| Elrathia kingii Trilobite in Association
with Choia utahensis Sponge
Taxonomy: Trilobites Order Ptychopariida; Family Ptychopariidae
Taxonomy: Phylum: Porifera, Class: Demospongia, Subclass: Ceractinomorpha,
Order: Monaxida, Family: Choiidae, Genus Choia
Geological Time: Middle Cambrian
Size: Trilobites 10, 37 mm ,Sponge 35 mm x 35 mm on 140 mmx 140 mm matrix
Fossil Site: House Range, Wheeler Formation, Millard County, Utah
Item: SFS005
Price: $150.00
Remarks:
Choia is a fossil demosponge from the Cambrian period. It was
unusual because it was not attached to the sea bed, and radiated
spines from the edge of its flattish, conical body, producing
an appearance not unlike that of the peak of a big top, with
guy lines. Water entered the sponge parallel to the spines, being
expelled, presumbaly, from a central openint.[1] It reached 28mm
in diameter.[1]
Fossils of Choia have been found in the Burgess Shale in British
Columbia, the Maotianshan shales of China and the Wheeler Shale
in Utah.
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| Crumillospongia sp. Pair
Taxonomy: Phylum Porifera, Class Demospongia, Subclass Ceractinomorpha,
Family Hazeliidae
Geological Time: Middle Cambrian
Fossil Site: Wheeler Formation, Millard County, Utah
Size: 52mm on 185mm X 75mm Matrix
Item: SFS006
Price: $75.00
Remarks: This is the largest Crumillospongia I've seen in the Wheeler
Shale. The Demosponge Crumillospongia belong to the family Hazeliidae.
Because no attachment structures have ever been found, so it remains
unclear whether or not this early Profera lived attached to the
seafloor. Crumillospongia are somewhat rare in the Middle Cambrian
of utah, and very rare in the Burgess Shale.
Sponge fossils from the Cambrian Explosion are found in various
Cambrian sites in North America, most notably the Burgess Shale
of Canada, and the Cambrian strata of Utah, like this specimen.
Many sponges are also described from the Chengjiang biota of China.
Sponges are believed to have undergone repeated radiations in the
Phanerozoic, and probably attained their largest diversity in the
Cretaceous
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