Lace-like Silurian Graptolite Fossil

Dictyonema crassibasale

Geological Time: Silurian, Wenlockian Stage (~424 million years ago)

Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): Fossil is 110 mm tall by 152 mm across on a 160 mm by 117 mm matrix

Fossil Site: Rochester Shale Formation, Middleport, New York State

Fossil Code: NYF09

Price: $65.00


Dictyonema Graptolite FossilDescription: This is a fine example of a Silurian fenestrate dendroid graptolite known as Dictyonema gracilis. Graptolites are colonial animals belonging to the hemichordates. The term originates from the patronymic genus Graptolithus. The graptolites were pelagic, drifting with the currents, and were the most important members of the plankton before dying out in the early Devonian. The window-like structures (fenestrae) were also seen in Bryozoans as a result of convergent evolution to serve as filters.

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