 | Texas Pennsylvanian FossilsDedicated to the Study of Pennsylvanian Fossils, Sponsored by Members of the Dallas Paleontological Society |
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Cnidarian - Corals | Corals are a group of small marine invertebrates that belong to the Phylum Cnidaria which also includes jellyfish and sea anemones. Cnidarians are characterized by radial symmetry and possession of stinging cells and corals possess a calcareous skeleton. Corals originated in the Cambrian and still inhabit the oceans today as a diverse and widespread part of the marine ecosystem. They are either solitary or colonial animals living within a calcareous skeleton, which is generally what fossilizes. In the Paleozoic, corals were an important group in many of the world’s seas, but species diversity is moderate. The solitary corals are generally cone shaped structures up to several inches long. The colonial corals consist of hundreds of minute animals but can form colonies up to softball size. Many colonial corals can look outwardly similar to bryozoans, but the individual unit of a coral is small (1 mm and up), but significantly larger than an individual bryozoan (fractions of a mm). In the Finis Shale, corals are very commonly found, both as colonial forms and solitary. The two species of Lophopylidium are common solitary corals and Cladochonus is usually the most common colonial coral, especially near the top of the Finis. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scroll through images or click to enlarge. Fossils are in alphabetical order by Genus.Collections are from Mike DeBrock (MD), Josh Hanley (JH), Dr. Peter Holterhoff (PH), Mark McKinzie (MM), John McLeod (JM), ), Dr. Ben Neuman (BN), Bob Williams (BW), Sveta Earnest (SE), and Rodney Wise (RW). All scales are shown in millimeters unless otherwise noted. |
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Images | Taxonomy/Stratigraphy/ | Images | Taxonomy/Stratigraphy/ |
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Subphylum: Class: Order: Family: Genus: Amniopora Species: A. sp. Finis Shale, Graham Formation LCD, Jacksboro, TX Collection: MD, | Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Subphylum: Anthozoa Class: Taulata Order: Auloporida Family: Auloporidae Genus: Aulopora Species: A. sp. Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: SE, RW |
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Anthozoa Order: Tabulata Family: Antiphyllidae Genus: Bradyphyllum Species: B. postwannense Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: BN, BW | Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Anthozoa Order: Auloporida Family: Pyrgiidae Genus: Cladochonus Species: C. fragilis Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: |
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Order: Family: Genus: Dibunophyllum Species: D. valeriae Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: |
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Anthozoa Order: Lophophyllidiidae Family: Lophophyllidium Genus: Lophophyllidium Species: L. plummeri Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: MM | Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Order: Family: Genus: Lophophyllidium Species: L. spinosum Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: MM, RW |
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Order: Family: Genus: Palaeacis Species: P. sp. Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: MM | Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Order: Family: Genus: Stereostylus Species: S. absitus Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: |
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Order: Family: Genus: Syringopora Species: S. multiattenuata Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: | Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Order: Family: Genus: Yuanophylloides Species: Y. sp. Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: |
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cnidaria Class: Order: Family: Genus: Zaphrentoides Species: Z. wannense Finis Shale, Graham Formation Lost Creek Dam, Jacksboro, TX Collection: MM |
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