| Paleoctenophora brasseli | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist's reconstruction | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Ctenophora |
| Class: | Tentaculata |
| Order: | Cydippida |
| Genus: | †Paleoctenophora |
| Species: | †P. brasseli |
| Binomial name | |
| †Paleoctenophora brasseli Stanley & Stürner, 1983 | |
Paleoctenophora brasseli is a fossil species ofctenophore,[1] found inDevonian slate near the German town ofBuntenbach inHunsrück,Germany, as a member of theHunsrück SlateLagerstätte.
Itis approximately 400 million years old. Compared to the other Hunsrück species,Archaeocydippida hunsrueckiana,P. brasseli is poorly preserved. Portions of comb rows are preserved, but the number can not be determined:P. brasseli is assumed to have around 8 rows, based on comparison with the similar-looking modern sea gooseberry genus,Pleurobrachia, from the North Sea. The specimen does show thestatocyst, however.[2]
Both specimens ofA. hunsrueckiana andP. brasseli are too delicate to be prepared, and all information extracted from them have been done viaradiography[2]
It is named after the fossil collectorGünther Brassel and first documented in Nature magazine in 1983.The only known example is now in theBavarian State Collection.