4.8" Dizygocrinus Crinoid - Warsaw Formation, Illinois

Dizygocrinus Crinoid - Warsaw Formation, Illinois #188709

This is a 4.8" long, fossil crinoid (Dizygocrinus gorbyi) from the Warsaw Formation in Illinois. It has a nice section of stem still attached and the anal tube can be seen poking out from the top of the crown.

Most of the 3D crinoids coming out of the midwest are coming from Crawfordsville, Indiana making these Illinois specimens a little more unusual. The specimen has been prepared using air abrasives to remove the hard limestone surrounding the specimen, and reveal the very detailed calyx.

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