Description
This is an exceptional Cystoid theca and stem piece from the Rochester Shale of New York.
Here is your chance to own a classic fossil from a classic site.
Harder and Harder to obtain fossils from this private quarry in Middleport, New York
These cystoids were collected decades ago and just recently prepared by our prep lab..
Here is a Super detailed cystoid from a classic site in NY.
This Small Caryocrinites Cystoid from Middleport New York are preserved in spectacular detail. Because of the wide variety and number of these Cystoids it is also assumed they lived in dense communities,
Cystoids are actually animals related to modern day starfish. They are echinoderms. They have modern relatives called crinoids living in the deep oceans today however then they lived in shallow salt water seas and lagoons. These animals lived during the Paleozoic and were most prevalent during the Mississippian Period.
Although there were many species of Cystoids, they shared a basic body styles consisting of a stem. And they also had a holdfast by which it anchored to the sea floor. It also had a theca which enclosed soft body tissues, and arms and pinnules which filtered food from the water.
This Small Caryocrinites Cystoid thrived in the warm inland sea that covered the area during the Silurian Period some 420 million years ago. The cystoids living near what is now Middleport New York were established near a delta system that periodically buried the colonies in silt. This silt eventually hardened into stone that preserved the Cystoids in glorious detail. The Cystoid though small has great detail.
This Cystoid has exceptional detail . It is 3/4 by 1/2 inches wide. It has been meticulously prepared using air abrasive technology. There is also a small piece of the stem attached.
