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Burren and Cliffs of Moher geologist Dr Eamon Doyle has made a pretty cool discovery in the wilds of Maam Valley in Connemara.

He found a new species of fossil starfish, which began to form a whopping 435 million years ago.

Cooler still, the fossil has been named ‘Crepidosoma doyleii’ in honour of its discoverer.

Dr. Doyle said he was delighted with the nod from his fellow palaeontologists.

“I wish to thank Clare County Council and the Geological Survey for their support and I look forward to presenting some new fossils from the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark in the near future,” he added.

Brittle stars first evolved around 500 million years ago and have survived relatively unchanged to the present day, although the ocean that was home to ‘Crepidosoma doyleii’ disappeared 400 million years ago due to plate tectonic movements of the Earth’s crust.

The specimens are housed in the National Museum (Natural History) in Dublin.

Dr Doyle’s discovery is detailed in the latest issue of The Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, published by the Royal Irish Academy.

For more visit www.ria.ie/irish-journal-earth-sciences or www.burrengeopark.ie.

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If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.

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