Cretaceous Era Fossil Brittle Star- Sannine Formation
Cretaceous Era Fossil Brittle Star- Sannine Formation
93 million years ago, prehistoric sea creatures swam in the coastal waters of what is now the Sannine Formation. This limestone deposit in northern Lebanon is a treasure trove of fossil specimens that paleontologists are learning more about each day.
These specimens are fossil brittle stars from the Sannine Formation which have been preserved in incredible detail. They are estimated to be over 93 million years old and come with an informational photo card that serves as certificate of authenticity.
📸 A Fossil Brittle Star in hand
Cretaceous Era Fossil Brittle Stars
During the Cretaceous, planet Earth appeared vastly different from the world we know today. 93 million years ago, in the area that is now northern Lebanon, a coastal sea was home to a robust ecosystem of prehistoric animals. Fish, turtles, lizards, cephalopods, and even pterodactyls.
The Sannine Formation is an incredible snapshot of this period of geologic history. The limestone deposit holds an astounding variety of fossils in great detail, many of which include soft body preservation. This makes it a rare resource for paleontologists to better understand prehistoric life.
📸 A fossil brittle star with stand
These specimens are fossil brittle stars from the Sannine Formation. The stars measure between 2-5" and show the animal in fine detail.
Each fossil is a completely unique piece of the Cretaceous Period. They are great collector's items and awesome to hold in your hand.
The brittle stars ship in a padded carton along with an acrylic display stand. An informational photo card that serves as certificate of authenticity is also included. More fossils from the Sannine Formation, like shrimp, fish, and showcase items are available in the collection below!
Temporal Range: Late Albian–Cenomanian (100,000,000–93,500,000 Years Ago)
MORE ABOUT The SANNINE FORMATION
📸 More brittle stars in hand
From Prehistory to Our History
The Sannine Formation is an expansive deposit of limestone in Lebanon that holds within it a bounty of fish from the Cenomanian Age, around 100 million years ago. These specimens have been known since ancient times and were first documented by Herodotus around 2,500 years ago.
Around 1250, during the Seventh Crusade, King Louis IX of France received a gift of a fossil fish, described as being “all stone, but nothing was missing its form, nor eyes nor bones or color or anything else that was not as true.” King Louis IX’s fossil fish was hardly unique—specimens from the Sannine Formation are prized for their level of preservation and abundance.
The Stars of the Sannine Formation
These specimens from the Sannine Formation are brittle stars from the Geocoma genus.
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. They sport radial symmetry and a simple body plan that allowed these creatures to flourish across 485 million years to the modern day.
The brittle star’s digestive, nervous, and reproductive systems are all concentrated in its central disk, allowing for its arms to be lost and regenerated without concern. Unlike sea stars, brittle stars’ long flexible arms allow them to scurry across the ocean floor. These arms are slender but are reinforced with a layer of calcium carbonate-based scales to protect them from predators. Most brittle stars are bottom feeders, but their quick movements allow some to be apt hunters.
📸 A Geologic Map of Northern Lebanon. The Sannine Formation is just outside Hjoula
A Fossilized Ecosystem
The Sannine Formation is considered a lagerstätte, a deposit with an exceptional degree of preservation of the marine life of the Tethys Ocean between Laurasia and Gondwana. A 2010 study uncovered a pterosaur Microtuban altivolans dating to the Cenomanian, the most complete pterosaur find from the African tectonic plate.
Even after hundreds of years of exploration, the Sannine Formation and the rest of Lebanon’s fossil deposits are still yielding up new finds for paleontologists.
Front of the Specimen Card
Back of the Specimen Card
Further Reading
Capasso, Luigi. “The History and the Situation of the World Famous Fossil Fish Quarries in Lebanon.” Università degli Studi G. d'Annunzio Chieti e Pescara. (2019)
Forey, Peter L. et al. “Fossil Fishes from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of Namoura, Lebanon.” Journal of systematic palaeontology 1.4 (2003): 227–330. Web.
Kriwet, Jürgen. “A New Pycnodont Fish Genus (Neopterygii: Pycnodontiformes) from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of Mount Lebanon.” Journal of vertebrate paleontology 24.3 (2004): 525–532. Web.
Petit, Gilles, and Sylvain Charbonnier. “Fossil Sponge Gemmules, Epibionts of Carpopenaeus Garassinoi n. Sp. (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the Sahel Alma Lagerstätte (Late Cretaceous, Lebanon).” Geodiversitas. 34.2 (2012): 359–372. Web. (not of genus?)
Stöhr, Sabine, Timothy D O’Hara, and Ben Thuy. “Global Diversity of Brittle Stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea).” PloS one 7.3 (2012): e31940–e31940. Web.
Taverne, Louis, and Luigi Capasso. “On the ‘Coccodus’ Lindstroemi Species Complex (Pycnodontiformes, Gladiopycnodontidae) from the Marine Late Cretaceous of Lebanon, with the Description of Two New Genera.” European Journal of Taxonomy, no. 101, 2014, https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2014.101.
Vullo, Romain et al. “A Unique Cretaceous-Paleogene Lineage of Piranha-Jawed Pycnodont Fishes.” Scientific reports 7.1 (2017): 6802–9. Web.
