Rarely Seen Cambrian Graptolite Fossil

Aspidograptus smithonensis

Hemichordata, Graptolithina, Dendroidea

Geological Time: Early Late Cambrian, Idamian Stage (~495 million years ago)

Size: 65 mm across

Fossil Site: Smithton, Tasmania, Australia

Graptolite FossilDescription: This is a fine fossil of the Cambrian dendroid graptolite known as Aspidograptus smithonensis. Graptolites are colonial animals belonging to the hemichordates. The term originates from the patronymic genus Graptolithus. The Graptoloidea were pelagic, drifting with the currents, and were the most important members of the plankton before dying out in the early Devonian.

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