Lunulites sp Cheilistome bryzoan, macro close up showing surface textures
A bryozoan of the genus Lunulites, having a more or less circular form. The Bryozoa are the only animal phylum with an extensive fossil record that does not appear in Cambrian or late Precambrian rocks. The oldest known fossil bryozoans, including representatives of both major marine groups, the Stenolaemata (tubula r bryozoans) and Gymnolaemata (boxlike bryozoans), appear in the Early Ordovician. It is plausible that the Bryozoa existed in the Cambrian but were soft-bodied or not preserved for some other reason; perhaps they evolved from a phoronid -like ancestor at about this time.
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Photo credit: © Scenics & Science / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: bryzoan, cheilistome, close, fossil, lunulites, macro, marine, palaeontology, record, showing, sp, surface, textures
