8.7" Hypselocrinus + 4 Other Species - Crawfordsville, Indiana

Hypselocrinus + Other Species - Crawfordsville, Indiana #22779

This is a nice plate from the Witherspoon Crinoid Quarry containing five different species of crinoids. The centerpiece on the plate is a 8.7" Hypselocrinus hoveyi including a very long section of stem. There is also a Scytalocrinus disparilis, Camptocrinus myelodactyins, Cyathocrinites multibrachiatus and an undescribed inadunate crinoid. They have been cleaned under microscope using air abrasives.

It is believed that crinoids from the Ramp Creek Limestone were 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