2.45" Cretaceous Echinoid (Heteraster) Fossil - France

Cretaceous Echinoid (Heteraster) Fossil - France #285601

This is a 2.45" wide fossil echinoid (Heteraster couloni) from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, France. The fossil is completely free of the surrounding rock and is Cretaceous (Barremian Stage) in age, or approximately 125 million years old. It has undergone some compression resulting in fracturing of the shell.

One side of the specimen is incomplete and has been stabilized with glue. Comes with an acrylic display stand.

Sea urchins are a type of echinoderm that are still living relatively unchanged today. They live at the bottom of soft ocean floors and have long spines protruding from their central bodies. They move along the bottom of the ocean using many small feet while feeding on various plant and animal matter.