EXCEPTIONAL SEA LILY PAIR IN MATRIX
Seirocrinus subangularis
Lower Jurassic
Posidonienschiefer Formation, Holzmaden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
The crinoid, known also as the Sea Lily or Feather Star, is one of the world's so-called "living fossils", with species still to be found in today's oceans, from Indonesia to the Caribbean. Their fossils are also found all over the world, but the most beautiful and desirable are those from the Posidonia shale beds of Holzmaden, in southern Germany. This Lower Jurassic formation is renowned for its beautifully preserved fossils from the Tethys Ocean, which existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia for much of the Mesozoic Era. The name of the formation was taken from the abundant Posidonia bronni, small clams found in the shale, but it is host to a wealth of other flora and fauna. The strong, dark color of the shale serves as a beautiful background to the delicate, snaking neck of these fossils, preserved in stunning detail and three-dimensionality, from the flowering corona to the piece of driftwood to which the two sea lilies had attached themselves, shimmering all over with silvery pyritization. A highly impressive, museum-standard plaque, it measures 70 7/8 x 35 1/2 inches overall.