Journal of Paleontology; January 2009; v. 83; no. 1;
p. 63-69; DOI: 10.1666/08-038RR.1
© 2009 Paleontological Society
The Complex Morphology of a New Lower Silurian Asteroid (Echinodermata)
Daniel B. Blake1 and
Frank R. Ettensohn2
1 Department of Geology, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801, <dblake{at}uiuc.edu>
2 Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506, <fettens{at}uky.edu>
Gordonaster brassfieldensis is a new genus and species of Asteroidea (Echinodermata) described from the Lower Silurian Brassfield Formation of east-central Kentucky. Tentatively assigned to the poorly understood Palaeasteridae, Gordonaster shares much with Ordovician asteroids, yet it also exhibits apparent homoplasies that presage the post-Paleozoic crown group. Available specimens also indicate that the ontogenetic pattern of ossicular addition seen in the crown group was established during the Paleozoic.
Copyright © 2009 by Paleontological Society