3.3" Fossil "Sea Biscuit" (Clypeaster) - Austria

This is a very 3D, 15 million year old fossil Echinoid of the genus Clypeaster, probably of the species Clypeaster acclivis. It comes from the Weissenegg Formation in Austria. The specimen is 3.3 inches wide and still attached to some of the limestone matrix in which it was found.

Animals of the Clypeaster genus are more commonly referred to as "sea biscuits or cake urchins. The genus first appeared in the Late Eocene and survives until today.