FOSSILS SPECIMEN: SPONGES
Fossils are defined as any evidence of prehistoric life. There are two types of fossils: Body Fossils include remains of skeletal bones, shell, carapace, test and teeth. Trace Fossils are clues the organism existed such as foot prints, tracks, burrows and coprolites (fossil dung).
The Phylum Porifera consist of sea sponges and thier relatives, the matted stromatoporoids, and double layered archaeocyathids. Sponges first appear in the fossil record during the late Precambrian, some 600 million years ago. While Archaeocyathids are an index fossil for the Cambrian, and are not found in any other strata of the fossil record. To see my model sponges click here, or to see my modern sea sponges click here.
Domain: Eukarya – Kingdom: Animalia – Phylum: Porifera
(sponges and their kin)
Ediacaran to Holocene
Sponge Wewokella
Pennsylvanian
(Upper Carboniferous)
Mineral Wells Fossil Park, Palo pinto County, Texas
Sponge Maeandrostia
Pennsylvanian
(Upper Carboniferous)
North America
Sponge Fissispongia
Pennsylvanian
(Upper Carboniferous)
Texas
Sponge Girtycoelia
Pennsylvanian
(Upper Carboniferous)
Graford Formation, Wise County, Texas
Sponge Raphidonema sp.
Cretaceous
Lower Greensand Formation, Faringdon, Berksire, England
Sponge Astreospongia
Silurian
North America
Sponge
Pennsylvanian
(Upper Carboniferous)
Mineral Wells Fossil Park, Palo Pinto County, Texas
Unnamed Sponge
Pennsylvanian
(Upper Carboniferous)
Mineral Wells Fossil Park, Palo Pinto County, Texas
Unnamed Sponge
Pennsylvanian
(Upper Carboniferous)
west Mineral Wells roadcut Palo Pinto County, Texas
Stromatopoid
Paleozoic to Mesozoic
North America
Stromatopoid
Paleozoic to Mesozoic
North America
Archeocyanthid (ancient cup)
Cambrian
North America