Modern echinoderms -invertebrates such as brittlestars and sea urchins - live only in open seas, but fossils from Europe suggest that this has not always been the case. A team led by Mariusz Salamon of the University of Silesia, Poland, examined fossils of the Aspiduriella similis brittlestar from a quarry in southern Poland. The fossils were embedded in limestone dated to the Middle Triassic period, more than 240 million years ago. Minerals and geological structures within the rocks suggest that the fossils formed in conditions with very high salt levels, such as those present in hypersaline coastal waters. Few other fossils were found in the rock, also pointing to harsh living conditions.
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机译：现代棘皮动物-无脊椎动物，海胆等无脊椎动物-仅生活在公海中，但欧洲的化石表明并非总是如此。波兰西里西亚大学的Mariusz Salamon领导的一个小组检查了波兰南部一个采石场中的Aspiduriella similis brittlestar的化石。这些化石被埋在了距今三亿四千万年前的中三叠纪时期的石灰岩中。岩石中的矿物和地质结构表明，这些化石是在盐分非常高的条件下形成的，例如高盐度沿海水域中存在的那些。在岩石中几乎没有发现其他化石，也表明恶劣的生活条件。
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