Astrorhizae-like structures on epitheca of rugose corals from the Carboniferous of Laos

Stellate patterns, called astrorhizae, occurring in some Paleozoic stromatoporoids are by most authors regarded as integral elements of these enigmatic fossils. The finding of stellate structures on epithecae of rugose corals from the Lower Carboniferous of Central Laos seems to support, however, the idea that astrorhizae in Paleozoic stromatoporoids may represent traces of foreign organisms.