Fossil jellyfish? Of course not!

One of the fossil specimens presented to the students of paleontology at Charles University (Prague) for almost a century was Medusites – a putative fossil of a jellyfish (medusa). It came from the Cambrian (lowermost Palaeozoic) siltstones exposed at Skryje (central Bohemia, Czech Republic). The students were, however, given incorrect information. A recent study of the original specimen and a few remaining specimens from the vicinity of Skryje testify the affiliation to the pineapple-shaped ichnogenus (i.e. trace fossil) Astropolichnus Crimes and Anderson, 1985. A new ichnospecies Astropolichnus bohemicus is established based on the material from the Skryje area. This material is the first occurrence of Astropolichnus in the middle Cambrian.
Reference: Radek Mikuláš & Oldřich Fatka (2017): Ichnogenus Astropolichnus in the Middle Cambrian of the Barrandian area, Czech Republic. Ichnos (USA), DOI: 10.1080/10420940.2017.1292908