Fossil
Furcaster
Hunsrück brittle star
Furcaster palaeozoicus is the golden pyritised brittle star of the Hunsrück Slate, often preserved in groups on black slate and the most familiar Bundenbach fossil. Slabs with several Furcaster are affordable classics; painted or 'improved' arms occur, and pyrite decay threatens all of them. Keep them below 45 % relative humidity.
| Phylum | Echinodermata |
|---|---|
| Class | Ophiuroidea |
| Family | Furcasteridae |
| Group | Fossil |
| Rank (PBDB) | genus· Paleobiology Database |
| Author | Stürtz 1886· Paleobiology Database |
| Classification (PBDB) | Echinodermata › Ophiuroidea › Oegophiurida › Furcasteridae· Paleobiology Database |
| Range (PBDB) | 439–323 Ma· Paleobiology Database |
| PBDB occurrences | 42· Paleobiology Database |
Elsewhere
- GBIF: 4872116
- PBDB: 31532
- Wikidata: Q16557925
- PBDB taxon page
- Wikipedia: Furcaster
- PBDB search: Furcaster
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Furcaster" (Taxon). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/taxa/furcaster. Accessed 2026-09-20.
@misc{stratum-furcaster,
title = {Furcaster},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/taxa/furcaster}},
year = {2026},
note = {Taxon article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, pbdb, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.