Triops Longicaudatus
Triops Longicaudatus Red
Triops Longicaudatus
Triops Longicaudatus Red
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Rare starfish find on the Pfänder: fossil from Vorarlberg delights experts
An extraordinary find is currently causing a stir on the palaeontological scene: During an excavation excursion on the Pfänder, Bregenz’s local mountain in Vorarlberg, a team led by palaeontologist Georg Friebe came across the well-preserved trace of an approximately 20 million-year-old starfish, a stroke of luck that rarely occurs.
A scientific sensation
The excursion was organised at the beginning of April by the Kempten Adult Education Centre, supported by the ‘inatura’ Natural History Museum in Dornbirn. The destination was defined as a site in the so-called Upper Marine Molasse. This is a marine rock layer that was formed around 20 million years ago. Although this site has been researched for over a century, it apparently still harbours scientific surprises.
The preservation of the fossil starfish, which measures around nine by five centimetres, is particularly remarkable. As Friebe explains, starfish normally disintegrate quickly after death, their skeleton is so delicate that it breaks apart during the decomposition process and is dispersed by waves or currents. Only under very special conditions can an imprint survive: ‘In this case, the starfish was apparently resting on the seabed, sank slightly into the soft mud and was covered by sand shortly afterwards,’ says Friebe. The sediments solidified over the course of millions of years, so that the shape of the animal was preserved on the underside of a sandstone slab.
For the researchers involved, the find is not only a scientific sensation, but also a potential award winner: the fossilised starfish relic has now been nominated as ‘Fossil of the Month’ for the specialist journal Der Steinkern. Sönke Simonsen, editor of the magazine, is impressed: ‘This find is so extraordinary that it has a good chance in the competition, even if the assessment is mainly based on the preparation.’
The site on the Pfänder is known for the remains of marine molluscs such as tower snails, oysters and scallops. However, the discovery of a starfish is a minor sensation, not only for Vorarlberg, but also for the German-speaking world as a whole. The new addition to the ‘inatura’ collection is therefore likely to attract attention far beyond the region.
