The Hunsrück Slate

The Hunsrück Slate in Bundenbach, Germany is lower Devonian (390 million years ago). Both the Hunsrück Slate and the Burgess Shale represent marine benthic communities living above a muddy seabed at a depth of less than 200m. All of the fish groups except the chondrichthyans (which had not yet evolved) are represented with agnathans and placoderms being the most common. Among the Echinoderms the starfish, brittlestars, and crinoids are the most common. Polychaete worms are a rare find and represent the Annelids. Among arthropods, trilobites are common, while crustaceans, and chelicerates are rare. Sponges, corals, brachiopods, and mollusks are also found in the Hunsrück, but are not numerous. Small pieces of plant material washed out to sea along with fish coprolites, burrows, and tracks are also preserved (Selden & Nudds, 2004, pp. 37-46).