The picture displayed is of an Iereopsis polystoma sponge fossil at the Museo di Paleontologia at Sapienza University of Rome Italy. Creatures like this existed at the time of the Upper Cretaceous Period (Campanian). The fossil was found in Misburg, Hannover, Germany.
There appears to be a trace fossil on this sponge that I have seen something like before. We find these marks sometimes on Ordovician bryozoan fossils in Kentucky and Indiana. I believe it is called bioclaustration where creatures grow around each other. The trace fossil we find is called Catellocaula vallata and whether this is something similar that survived into the Cretaceous Period... I do not know. See that blog post here: http://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2011/03/catellocaula-vallata-borings.html
Image taken in June 2014.
Read further:
http://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2012/04/29/woosters-fossil-of-the-week-the-classic-bioclaustration-upper-ordovician-of-ohio/
http://eurekamag.com/research/021/841/021841064.php
