SEA URCHIN FOSSIL ECHINOID FOSSILS

This is a unusually large block of an entire layer of intensely packed sea urchins in rare preserved form with their spines, from the Middle Jurassic. The species is called Acrosalenia hemicidaroides. This specimen is not a typical commercially found fossil and was privately collected from a deposit that is reportedly not producing many specimens like this anymore. We have seen very small fragments of this layer available for sale for hundreds of dollars but never many large specimens like this. The entire block is a large portion of the entire layer and the sea urchins and spines fill this entire large thick specimen. A piece like this is certainly the perfect candidate to be the centerpiece for any very advanced fossil collection. Many sea urchin fossils with spines are prepared with acid which dissolves the matrix and loosens the spines so that they come off the plate. The spines are then reassembled around the central portion called a TEST, to restore the appearance of the urchin. Such specimens are unnatural and we have seen several on the market in the recent past. This is a 100% NATURAL specimen and is prepared with no restoration or such artificial assembly of the spines. What you see is exactly as the layer was exposed. There is NO REPAIR and NO RESTORATION. An absolute RARE showpiece fossil specimen and very highly recommended!