Parascytalocrinus Crinoid Fossil - Crawfordsville

This is a well preserved, 3" long Parascytalocrinus hamiltonensis crinoid fossil from the famous Witherspoon Quarry near Crawfordsville, Indiana. It has been prepared under microscope using air abrasives. Lying underneath it is a second crinoid, probably of the genus Savocrinus.

Crinoids are commonly known as sea lilies, though they are animals, not plants. They are echinoderms related to starfish, sea urchins, and brittle stars. They attached themselves to the sea floor and had feathery, tentacle-like appendages which they used to capture particles of food. First appearing in the Ordovician period, 488 million years ago, they still survive to this day in deep water.