Killer Crinoid Plate From Maysville, Kentucky

This is a stunning plate of crinoids (Glyptocrinus deculatus) from the Bellevue Formation near Maysville, Kentucky. The entire piece measures 6.4x5.7" and has been painstakingly prepared under microscope to reveal the full detail of the crinoid specimens some of which have long stems attached. These plates require a huge number of hours to prepare.

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.