Phyllograptus fructicosus Ordovician Graptolite Fossil

This is a fine example of a graptolite that existed during a time that saw a transgression of the seas over low-lying landforms. Graptolites are colonial animals belonging to the hemichordates. The term originates from the patronymic genus Graptolithus. The Graptoloidea were pelagic, drifting with the currents, and were the most important members of the plankton before dying out in the early Devonian. Many were quite cosmopolitan in distribution, and the limited temporal duration of individual species make them excellent index fossils for correlation of strata and biota from widespread locations. In addition to the second partial example at the edge of the matrix, there are several examples of a very different morphology on the reverse side, making for a most interesting specimen.

See other Graptolites