Allonnia tintinopsis

Middle Cambrian
Burgess Shale, Stephens Formation
Field, British Columbia, Canada

45mm on 88mm x 97mm slab. Very rare. No restoration, no repair.

Allonnia is a chancellorid – a strange, poorly understood member of the coeloscleritophora, the group which includes another famous Burgess Shale animal, Wiwaxia. These animals were covered with delicate spines and were originally misidentified as sponges. In reality, they are more closely related to molluscs.

Fine, well-preserved specimen still covered with little spines.