Ordovician Radiation Furca mauretanica Marellomorph with Preserved Limbs

Part and Counterpart Fossils

" Furca " mauretanica

Phylum Arthropoda, Class Marrellomorpha

Geological Time: Lower Ordovician

Size: Fossil is 30 mm by 34 mm on a 90 mm by 70 mm and 95 mm by 70 mm matrix pair

Fossil Site: Upper Fezouata Formation, Zagora, Morocco

Code: 16218

Price: Sold


Ordovician Radiation Furca mauretanica Marellomorph with Preserved LimbsDescription: This is a fine example of an Ordovician marellomorph known thus far as Furca mauretanica. The Marellomorpha are a small group of rare, primitive arthropods. The order was named after the Burgess Shale genus Marella (see my other offerings) and also includes Mimetaster (again, see my other specimens). The genus was first known from specimens found in Bohemia (Furca bohemica). In 2004 a new species was been found in the Upper Fezouata Formation deposits near Zagora, Morocco. The cuticle of specimens is typically preserved as a deep red or reddish-brown mineralization. Most specimens consist primarily of the cephalic shield and a trunk would projecting out between the posterior pair of extensions. This one shows a trace of the abdomen. See my other offerings for an example with more detail [see 16223] I have been advised by the describer of the taxon that it will most likely be placed in a different genus, hence the quotation marks around the current genus.

Reference: PhD Thesis of Peter Van Roy, University of Ghent, July 2006, pp 63-86.

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Furca mauretanica


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