10" Fossil Crinoids and Horn Coral - Crawfordsville, Indiana

Fossil Crinoids and Horn Coral - Crawfordsville, Indiana #296788

This is a gorgeous detailed association of two crinoid fossils and horn coral, collected from the famous crinoid beds near Crawfordsville, Indiana. The specimen includes a large Actinocrinites gibsoni (#52 - 7.4" long including stem), a Halysiocrinus tunicatus crinoid (#27 - 1.4" long crown), and a 1.4" long horn coral fossil. The quality of preparation on these fossils is exquisite, using skillful air-abrasion techniques under a stereo microscope.

This specimen comes with an acrylic-metal display stand. It appears as though the long stem was already present within the rock and the crown of the same species has been composited onto the rock.

Crinoids from the Ramp Creek Limestone were likely buried in sediment from nearby deltas during storms. The resulting siltstone deposits are soft enough that fossils can be extracted in exquisite, three-dimensional relief.

Crinoids, sometimes commonly referred to as sea lilies, are animals, not plants. They are echinoderms related to starfish, sea urchins, and brittle stars. Many crinoid traits are like other members of their phylum. Such traits include tube feet, radial symmetry, a water vascular system, and appendages in multiples of five (pentameral). They first appeared in the Ordovician (488 million years ago) and some species are still alive today.

About Crinoids