Description

Brittle Stars are one of the oldest groups of animals in the fossil record. Their whip-like arms and star shaped bodies have remained relatively unchanged through hundreds of millions of years, which is a testament to their evolutionary success.

This specimen is a 7.31 Ordovician Ophiurida Brittle Star, which lived over 440 million years ago. Members of the genus could be found all over the world and resembled modern brittle stars in shape and behavior. This particular starfish comes from the Ktaoua Formation in Morocco.