'Ophiacantha oceani' brittle star fossil named after The Ocean

'Ophiacantha oceani', a new brittle star fossil discovered by palaeontologists Dr. Lea Numberger and Dr. Ben Thuy at the Natural History Museum of Luxembourg was named after Berlin progressive metal band The Ocean to celebrate their palaeontology-inspired music. "Musicians who so skillfully combine arts and science, composing albums like ‘Precambrian’ (with songs named after the periods of the Precambrian), ‘Pelagial’ (with songs named after the bathymetric subdivisions of the water column) and ‘Phanerozoic’ as well as the song ‘Turritopsis dohrnii’ referring to the immortal jellyfish from the Mediterranean, are more than deserving of being immortalized in the fossil record“, comments Dr. Ben THUY, Natural History Museum of Luxembourg, Palaeontology - Research & Collections Curator. Read the news on the MUSEUM'S PAGE (https://www.mnhn.lu/science/2020/09/21/new-fossil-named-after-metal-band-the-ocean/?lang=en) Access the original publication in scientific journal ZOOTAXA. The abstract states that „Identifiable remains of large deep-sea invertebrates are exceedingly rare in the fossil record. Thus, every new discovery adds to a better understanding of ancient deep-sea environments based on direct fossil evidence.“ The fossil was discovered in 2.6-million-year-old (Pliocene) deep-sea sediments of the Mediterranean but its closest living relative is from the Caribbean. Was it the victim of a yet undetected deep-sea extinction event? On September 25th, 2020, The Ocean will release their 8th full-length, Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic, via Metal Blade Records (CD / digital) and the band's own Pelagic Records (vinyl). In 2018, The Ocean released Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic - the first half of a sprawling but superbly cohesive paleontology concept album. Widely hailed as their finest work to date, Phanerozoic I brimmed with moments of wide-eyed melodic brilliance, alongside the expected warping and weaving of post-metal conventions. Now, the group is ready to release the eagerly-awaited concluding parts of the Phanerozoic journey. In contrast with the compositional directness of Phanerozoic I, the new album - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic - is a vastly more progressive and experimental piece of work. Tracked in Iceland, Spain and Germany and produced by Jens Bogren, Phanerozoic II is underpinned by some of the most imaginative and challenging music that The Ocean - completed by drummer Paul Seidel, keyboard maestro Peter Voigtmann, bassist Mattias Hagerstrand and guitarist David Ramis Åhfeldt - have made yet. Divided into two sections - Mesozoic and Cenozoic - the album once again showcases the detail and depth that have become two of The Ocean's most enduring trademarks. While ostensibly delving into the extraordinary realities of the Earth's shifting temporal tides, Staps and his comrades have long drawn hazy parallels between their chosen subjects and the emotional experiences that their music strives to convey. Phanerozoic II is essentially an album about time, with some very poignant and pointed allusions to the modern world woven into the new music's spiritual fabric. Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic track-listing 1. Triassic 2. Jurassic | Cretaceous 3. Palaeocene 4. Eocene 5. Oligocene 6. Miocene | Pliocene 7. Pleistocene 8. Holocene The Ocean tour dates w/ pg.lost, Hypno5e, Svalbard Jan. 7 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof Jan. 8 - Colmar, France - Grillen Jan. 9 - Paris, France - La Machine Jan. 10 - Nantes, France - Ferrailleur Jan. 11 - Toulouse, France - Le Rex Jan. 12 - Bilbao, Spain - Stage Live Jan. 13 - Lisbon, Portugal - LAV Jan. 14 - Madrid, Spain - Caracol Jan. 15 - Murcia, Spain - Gamma Jan. 16 - Barcelona, Spain - Boveda Jan. 17 - Bordeaux, France - Krakatoa Jan. 18 - Lyon, France - CCO Jan. 19 - Fribourg, Switzerland - Fri-Son Jan. 20 - Lucerne, Switzerland - Sedel Jan. 21 - Vienna, Austria - Viper Room Jan. 22 - Prague, Czech Republic - Nova Chelmnice Jan. 23 - Berlin, Germany - Festsaal Jan. 25 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumpehuset Jan. 26 - Hamburg, Germany - Bahnhof Pauli Jan. 27 - Leipzig, Germany - Conne Island Jan. 28 - Munich, Germany - Backstage Jan. 29 - Essen, Germany - Zeche Carl Jan. 30 - Osnabruck, Germany - Kleine Freiheit Jan. 31 - Zwolle, Netherlands - Hedon Feb. 1 - Cologne, Germany - Volta Feb. 2 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique Feb. 3 - Utrecht, Netherlands - De Helling Feb. 4 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece Feb. 5 - Glasgow, UK - Slay Feb. 6 - Manchester, UK - Club Academy Feb. 7 - London, UK - 229 Feb. 8 - Brighton, UK - Patterns The Ocean online: https://www.facebook.com/theoceancollective https://twitter.com/OceanCollective https://www.instagram.com/theoceancollective