Mississippian bryozoan

Description:	Looks can be deceiving in the fossil record. While these early fossils may look like ancient seastars, they are actually a quite different animal. Scientists call these creatures bryozoan, or moss animals. These animals spent a quiet life in the sea, often attaching themselves to rocks, plants, or even other animals and slowly growing and spreading like moss. This particular type would develop a star shape and continue to grow at a very slow rate. These are from the Mississippian Period, and are over 333 million years old.
Source:	http://www.digitalindy.org/cdm/ref/collection/tcm/id/2180
Collection:	The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Rights:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/;
Copyright:	Creative Commons (CC By-SA 3.0);
Subjects:	Fossils Animals, Fossil Bryozoa Paleontology -- Mississippian

Further information on this record can be found at its source.