2.4" Fossil Crinoid Plate (Eretmocrinus) - Gilmore City, Iowa

Fossil Crinoid Plate (Eretmocrinus) - Gilmore City, Iowa #232255

This is a 2.4" wide plate of crinoid fossils, collected from the Gilmore City Formation of Gilmore City, Iowa. Both crinoids are of the species Eretmocrinus tentor and are in excellent condition. The quality of preparation on these fossils is exquisite, using skillful air-abrasion techniques under a stereo microscope.

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