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PAIR OF CAMPANIAN-ERA THREE DIMENSIONALLY-PRESERVED CRETACEOUS SPONGES WITH DELICATE INTACT ANATOMY North Central Germany UPPER CRETACEOUS PERIOD: 83.5 - 71.3 million years ago A very rare occurrence can be found in a unique Cretaceous fossil deposit in North Central Germany. A variety of highly unusual SEA SPONGE FOSSILS dating from a Campanian Era sea of the Cretaceous were preserved in FULL THREE DIMENSIONAL PRESERVATION retaining delicate anatomy seldom seen in prehistoric sponge fossils. The sponges found in this deposit comprise a very diverse breadth of anatomical varieties and nearly 180 different species. The fossils are found embedded in limestone host rock and were dug from subterranean deposits therefore, they were not exposed to the harsh elements and show no typical erosion or degradation of detail like so many sponge fossils of similar 3D preservation. These specific fossil sponges are so bizarre because the best specimens are completely lifelike with full three-dimensional preservation looking as if they were alive seconds ago before being turned to stone. We acquired a limited, old private collection of the finest specimens from the original excavator. When they are all gone, it is doubtful we will ever have this quality of sponge fossils to offer again. The majority of the sponges we acquired are free from their matrix and show minute surface detail of all relative anatomy including the osculum (little mouth at top where the water was expelled), pores, pustules, bumps, internal chambers when broken, stem, signs of prehistoric predator damage incurred with once alive and in some cases, additional prehistoric life-forms attached to the outer surface. The color is natural white from the limestone with variations due to trace minerals. This is an aesthetically matched pair of sponges of the species Phymatella sp., found together in the same deposit. Both sponges show well defined oscula (little mouth that expelled water flowed out of). The one sponge shows prehistoric predator damage near the osculum but this creates a "cutaway model" of the textbook anatomy of a sea sponge so it actually enhances the educational display value of the specimen in this way. A custom stand includes rods that fit up into the stem of the fossil to support it in the same position as it once was when alive. NO REPAIR OR FABRICATION! Extremely rare in this quality and with our highest recommendation for the ultimate in invertebrate marine life from the final days of the dinosaurs such as T. rex! Regardless of your interests in fossil collecting, one cannot help being totally fascinated to be able to witness a fully preserved, life-like sponge in complete inflated form from the Cretaceous seas. You could make latex molds of the different varieties found at this locality and make casts that could be used in 100% accurate Cretaceous marine dioramas! If you could go back in time to the days of dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex and dive into the ocean, this is some of the amazing ocean life you would witness! The state of preservation of these sponge fossils is nothing short of breath-taking! The vast majority of fossil sponges in the world are very, very poorly preserved and mostly represented by only fragments or badly eroded by elements. These sponges are unlike anything else we have ever encountered and their supply is extremely limited from this one, single locality. Once all of our limited collection are sold, it is likely you will never see such a realistic and phenomenal state of preservation in a fossilized sponge ever again!
Sponges belong to the scientific group called PORIFERA. These
creatures have an origin that dates back to over 500 million years ago.
Sponges are extremely primitive creatures that live attached to the
ocean floor, in some cases, at extreme depths. They are one of the
earliest known examples of coordination between cells of differing
functions in an organism. Their bodies are made up of a porous
covering over a skeleton composed of calcium or silicon. The
skeleton and its spicules form a latticework whereby water is drawn into
the sponge body. Oxygen and food is filtered out and the water is
expelled either out the upper or outer surface of the sponge.
Flagellae beat inside the main hollow tube to keep the water circulating
within the body. Fossil sponges have been found dating back to the
Lower Cambrian while associated fossilized body parts have been found in
Pre-Cambrian deposits.
Due to their structure,
fossils of sponges are almost always found in very poor states of
preservation and in fragments. AN EXTREME RARITY IN THE FOSSIL WORLD - RARELY SEEN LIFELIKE, FULLY INFLATED 3D PRESERVATION THESE SEA SPONGES COVERED THE ANCIENT SEA FLOOR AND REEFS WHEN T. REX WAS ALIVE ON THE EARTH 4.6" and 4" in height $395 SP004 INCLUDES STAND Actual Item - One Only |
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A partial assortment of fossil sea sponges from the same Cretaceous deposit as the specimen(s) being offered above. |
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395 |
