Stromatopora - Fossil Sponge

Description

This is a fossil sponge, part of the genus Stromatopora. During the Paleozoic, sponges were the major reef-forming organisms, a role now filled by corals. Most sponges contain internal, needle-like structures or have a hard, external skeletons (like this genus) that can be preserved in the fossil record. Stromatopora were major reef builder from the Ordovician (485 to 66 million years ago) to the Cretaceous (145 to 66 million years ago).


Object Information

Local ID:

2019.1.1

Collection:

Fossils

Dimensions:

5"" h 4 1/4"" w 2"" d