Name:
Ctenocystis utahensis
Age: Middle Cambrian
Formation: Wheeler Formation
Location: Millard County, Utah
Size: Plate is 2.7 inches long
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This is a great example of a rare echinoderm. It is a Ctenocystis utahensis from the Wheeler Shale of Utah. These unique animals are the oldest known echinoderms in the subphylum Homalozoa. The book, "Some Middle Cambrian Fossils of Utah", describes these ctenocystoids - "These tiny, free-living animals are known only from the Spence Shale of Utah." Well, this plate was found in the Wheeler Shale! The ctenocystoid is easily seen and is very detailed. The distinct structure of this echinoderm looks like the photo from the book mentioned above (see photo #2). This is a very collectible early echinoderm from the Wheeler Shale.
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