| Brooksella | |
|---|---|
_(Cambrian%2c_Alabama%2c_USA).jpg) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera |
| Class: | Hexactinellida |
| Order: | †Reticulosa |
| Family: | †Protospongiidae |
| Genus: | †Brooksella Walcott, 1896 |
| Type species | |
| †Brooksella alternata Walcott, 1896 | |
Brooksella is an enigmatic star-shapedCambrian fossil found in theConasauga Formation of Alabama and Georgia.[1] These fossils are often referred to as "star-cobbles" for their distinct lobate appearance, generally with 6 or more lobes.
Brooksella was first described in 1896 byCharles Doolittle Walcott, who believed them to be medusoid body fossils ofcnidarians.[2][3] Later researchers have offered other explanations, fromdiagenetic gas bubbles to burrow traces. The most accepted identity is that they arehexactinellid sponges, based on observedspicules,ostia, and internal structure.[1] In 2023, a group of researchers suggested thatBrooksella is apseudofossil, finding no support for previous interpretations of it as a sponge or a trace fossil.[4][5]
