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Articulated fossil ophiuroids from South America were reported for the Devonian, Cretaceous, Eocene, and Miocene. Here we report the first Jurassic record of an articulated ophiuroid from the Sierra Chacaicó Formation (early Pliensbachian-Sinemurian) in Neuquén Basin, Argentina, and discuss the taphonomic processes that allowed its preservation. The Sierra Chacaicó Formation represents the onset of the Early Jurassic extensive marine transgression in the basin. The basal section comprises shoreface and offshore Gilbert-type delta system, which was affected by hyperpycnal discharges. The middle and upper sections are represented by offshore deposits, affected by storms and eroded by hyperpycnal channel-levee systems. The ophiuroid specimen was found in levels of massive, fine, tuffaceous sandstone beds and covered by coarse sandstone containing a large amount of plant debris and organic matter. It was preserved articulated, with a complete disc and almost complete arms. Based on the microstructure of the spine-bearing lateral arm plates, the ophiuroid is assigned to Sinosura, an extinct genus of the family Ophioleucidae, widespread in the Lower Jurassic deposits of Europe but previously unknown from other parts of the world. The posture of the ophiuroid, with one arm curved distally and extended in one direction and the other four arms symmetrically oriented in the opposite direction, suggests a walking or escape movement frozen in time. This implies that the ophiuroid was buried alive by sediment thick enough to prevent successful escape. The taphonomic and sedimentologic evidence indicates that the fossil material was found in hyperpycnal deposits accumulated in offshore positions, which carried a high concentration of sediment in suspension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fossil record of Paleozoic ophiuroids includes a number of forms which share striking similarities with modern relatives in terms of skeletal morphology. These so called modern-type Paleozoic ophiuroids yield an enormous potential for a better understanding of ophiuroid evolution, yet the scarcity of accurate and sufficiently detailed morphological descriptions available to date precludes any further-reaching assessments. Here, we describe an articulated ophiuroid specimen from the Late Tournaisian (early Carboniferous) of Czatkowice quarry, southern Poland, as a new species Aganaster jagiellonicus sp. nov. The good preservation of the specimen allowed for a morphological analysis at a level comparable to recent ophiuroid descriptions. It shows remarkable morphological similarities with extant former ophiolepidids Ophiomusium and Ophiosphalma. The new find thus contributes to a solid basis for future investigations on the position of the modern-type Paleozoic ophiuroid in the phylogeny of the class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ophiurites crinitus is a fossil brittle-star species which passed largely unnoticed since its original description. In this pa- per, we redescribe the type material of O. crinitus with the aim to put it into the context of modern ophiuroid systematics, and propose the new genus name Ophiosternle to replace the invalid Ophiurites. The re-assessed species is shown to be a member of the extant deep-sea family Ophiacanthidae, articulated fossils of which are extremely rare. It presents greatest affinities with members of the Ophioplinthaca-Ophiocamax-Ophiomitra clade, of which it most probably represents the oldest known fossil species. The depositional environment of the strata, which yielded the described specimens is interpreted as shallow, storm-influenced marine setting in the immediate vicinity of coral reefs. This contrasts with the distribution pattern of extant species of the Ophioplinthaca-Ophiocamax-Ophiomitra clade, which almost exclusively occur at depths exceeding the shelf break. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]