Lot 679
Two Huge Early Cambrian Medusoid Jellyfish. Jellyfish are one of the earliest multicellular life forms, but are extremely rare in the fossil record because they bare no hard parts to fossilize.When they are found, they are usually small, only 1 to 3 inches in diameter and also very faint in detail.
These two jellyfish are the rare exception in being both very large, 12 and 7 inches in diameter, as well as incredibly detailed, being a brown to dark brown in color, contrasted against a light hard sandstone matrix. These jellyfish have scalloped edges and convex central bell centers. When these Cnidarian medusoids were trapped in a shallow tidal pool, probably as a result of a storm, they pumped their bell, trying to escape. This resulted in the "stomach" and internal cavity filling with sand. The exact age of these huge jellyfish is still being determined, being from 545 to 520 million years old. From Central Wisconsin Mount Simon sandstone. Weight is 29½ pounds.
Estimated Value $650 - 1,200.
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