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EXCELLENT PRESERVATION NATURAL EXTINCT SEA LILY FOSSILS ON ORIGINAL COLORFUL PREHISTORIC OCEAN FLOOR ROCK South Morocco UPPER SILURIAN PERIOD: 420 million years ago Truly a supreme grade display fossil CRINOID, these are prehistoric SEA LILIES of the species Scyphocrinus elegans. The slab was formerly the bottom of the Silurian sea where a number of these creatures died and became buried still in their original articulated positions as they were when once alive. The relief and detail of this specimen must be seen in person as it looks so much more impressive than the photos convey. While still alive today, sea lilies were much more prevalent in the ocean in prehistoric times. This specimen is far nicer than what is usually offered. There is NONE of the typical paint applied to this specimen which allows incredible detail to be seen as a result of the expert lab preparation of the slab. Beautiful red, brown and black colors make this a highly aesthetic piece. The detail you see in the fossil above is 100% authentic. Only the original excavation saw lines and cracks were repaired and filled. The entire back of the slab is reinforced with epoxy and the overall thickness is only 1.5 to 2 inches on average making this an IDEAL wall mount display fossil. The closer one inspects this slab, the more rewarding the experience. There is so much minute detail preserved as seen in the photos above. What the photos do NOT show is how some of the sea lilies PROTRUDE dramatically off the slab front. For the ultimate commercial or residential interior design application, this is an extraordinarily fine quality fossil slab showing a rare and visually intriguing AUTHENTIC AND ORIGINAL example of some of the earliest complex marine creatures on our planet.
CRINOIDS are known as feather stars or sea lilies and are echinoderms. They are alive today in the oceans but were more prevalent in colonies in prehistory. They live in shallow water but have also been found in extreme deep sea environments. Crinoids resemble a flower with tentacles. They are filter feeders and have feather-like appendages that strain food particles from the ocean currents. Some live as floating organisms but most are attached to the ocean floor by the means of a segmented stem. Most fossilized crinoids are found disarticulated in beds of numerous fragments but they also can be found in articulated forms as they once were when alive. The first occurrences of crinoids in the fossil record as found in the Ordovician Period. Crinoids are composed of three basic components - the arms, the calyx and the stem. The calyx is the body and contains the digestive and reproductive parts. The tentacles contain feathery appendages called cirri which moved the captured food particles down towards the calyx and into the mouth. A SPECTACULAR EXAMPLE PREPARED TO REVEAL ALL DETAIL AND WITHOUT TYPICAL PAINTING 12" x 12" overall SOLD CRI021 INCLUDES STAND Actual Item - One Only |
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THIS IMAGE IS PROTECTED BY A STRICTLY ENFORCED COPYRIGHT AND MAY NOT BE USED IN ANY WAY |
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