Euzonosoma tischbeinianum F.A.Roemer, 1862

Taxonomy

Brittle Star

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata Klein 1754
Class: Ophiuroidea Gray 1840
Order: Ophiuridea
Family: Encrinasteridae Schuchert 1914
Genus: Euzonosoma
Species: Euzonosoma tischbeinianum
Author Citation F.A.Roemer, 1862

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Paleozoic
Period: Devonian
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Early
International Age: Emsian (early)

Stratigraphy

Hunsrück Slate Group
Kaup Formation
Eschenbach Member

Provenance

Collector: T. Bastelberger
Date Collected: 06/01/1980
Acquired by: Field Collection

Dimensions

Diameter: 8 cm

Location

Eschenbach-Bocksberg quarry
Bundenbach
Rhineland-Palatinate
Germany

• aspidosoma
• brittle star
• bundenbach
• devonian
• emsian
• encrinaster
• euzonosoma
• kaub formation
• tff-oilshale-ec106

Comments

Euzonosoma was a brittlestar genus that existed during the Devonian period.

This E. tischbeinianum is from the Bundenbach slate of Germany. The slate was quarried for use in the roofing industry for many years and, at least in some parts of Germany, you can still see houses covered by Bundenbach slates. Unfortunately, roof-slate mining in Bundenbach came to an end in 1999. The fossil has been replaced by iron pyrite or ''fool's gold''. The brittlestar already started to become decomposed at the tip of the arms.

Taxonomy from Fossilworks.org.
Alternative combinations: Aspidosoma tischbeinianum, Encrinaster tischbeinianus.
Description from Südkamp 2017, p. 132: " The quite large disc is composed of large and irregularly polygonal plates. The disc has a concave margin and is bound by blocky rounded marginals. They have in the middle part their largest size. The mouth-angle plates are small and stumpy and have a broad proximalgroove. The five elongate arms are the broadest just outside of the disc edge, taper strongly and end whip-like. The ambulacrals alternate over the midline and are rectangular dorsally. They form transverse ridges that are groove-like and, especially within the disc, deeply sunken. Orally the ambulacrals are boot-shaped. The tall laterals are blocky, rectangular and bear short groove spines."

Identified by oilshale.
References: 
Roemer, C. F. (1864) Neue Asteriden und Crinoiden aus devonischem Dachschiefer von Bundenbach bei Birkenfeld. Palaeontographica 9:143-152.
Südkamp, W. (2017): Life in the Devonian. Identification book Hunsrück Slate fossils. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil. München 2017. ISBN978-3-89937-221-2.