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Lot 8267

Cystoids

3 December 2006, 11:00 PST
Los Angeles

US$1,200 - US$1,500

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Cystoids

Unidentified sp.
Ordovician
Hefalla Sandstone, Morocco

A unique group of extinct stemless echinoderms (a family that includes starfish, brittle stars and sea urchins), is seen in a natural presentation that evokes a group of individuals in motion. Cystoids’ bodies are made up of numerous asymmetrically arranged calcareous plates. They have tiny pores perforating the plates (probably used for gas exchange) and a short, slender arm that trapped food particles and passed them to their mouth. Their body has a calcium carbonate skeleton. The long armored tail aided the animal’s locomotion across the ocean floor, then provided stability as the cystoid dug its tail into the ocean floor. At one time cystoids were believed to have been an ancestor of vertebrates. Measures 25 x 15in

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