While I have many sources of limestone locally, this specimen of Fenestella was one of my first finds in a new location. A limestone ridge cropped above the stream across the valley floor to the other side. So, while I’ve likely encountered many bryozoans in limestone, this is the first specimen I found worth exploring.
A non-coral Lace Coral
With a common name of lace coral, it is coral-like but truly a Bryozoan. Species from the phylum Bryozoa typically form colonies of cloned creatures called zooids. These are, on average, 1/2 a millimeter in length and filter feed from the ocean water. Each tiny opening in the fossil, the entrance to a zooecium, is the home for each zooid.
![CG-0011, Fenestella](https://fossil.15656.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CG-0011-Fenestella.jpg)
![Fenestella](https://fossil.15656.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/8CEDCC6E-A43B-4C7E-A37D-91F7C55DC810-1024x1024.jpeg)
![Fenestella Under Microscope](https://fossil.15656.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/BBA0E645-CF3A-4834-9763-04E9D4C3BE03-1024x1024.jpeg)
![Fenestella](https://fossil.15656.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/5DC12156-306E-4033-A5FA-4E79FB5B5EEF-1024x1024.jpeg)
![Fenestella with Scale](https://fossil.15656.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/B52DB211-7BB7-41D3-BD3A-87E11AC8C4CC-1024x1024.jpeg)
More about Fenestella Online
- Lace Coral / Bryozoans – Fossil Lady
- Bryozoa.net