Essexella
Extinct cnidarian / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Essexella is an extinct genus of cnidarian known from Late Carboniferous fossils; it contains a single species, E. asherae. It is one of the most recurrent organisms in the Mazon Creek fossil beds of Illinois;[1] in the Essex biota of Mazon Creek, it consists of 42% of all fossil finds.[2] Essexella was originally described as a jellyfish,[3] but was recently redescribed as a sea anemone. The scientists on the "anemone" side of the debate made a book as early as 2017,[4] but it was ignored until the same authors made a proper scientific paper in 2023.[5]
Quick Facts Scientific classification ...
Essexella | |
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E. asherae fossil on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Cnidaria |
Genus: | †Essexella |
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Another alleged jellyfish, Reticulomedusa, is likely Essexella preserved from different angles. Essexella may have produced the common trace fossil Conostichus.[6]