Lemoneites

Lemoneites is a genus of glyptocystitid, a group of extinct blastozoan echinoderms, known from the Ordovician period. The genus was first described in 1969 by Rousseau H. Flower. It contains a single species, L. mirabilis, known from fossils found in the lower part of the Scenic Drive Formation within the El Paso Group of the Franklin Mountains in Texas. The fossils are preserved as silica replacements etched in dolomite. The genus was originally described as an aglaspidid within its own family, Lemoneitidae. It was also described as a xiphosuran. Later, it would be assigned to the order Strabopida, but after a study, Lemoneites was classified as an echinoderm. The genus originally contained three additional species: L. ambiguus, L. gomphocaudatus, and L. simplex. All three are now considered synonyms of L. mirabilis.