Large 25x24" Scyphocrinites Crinoid Plate - Morocco

This is large plate of well preserved crinoid fossils from Southern Morocco. The plate is 25 by 24" inches and had at least 10 large crinoids of the species Scyphocrinites elegans preserved on it. It is a nice solid plate which would made an excellent display or could even be hung on a wall.

The Scyphocrinites crinoids are quarried around Erfoud, Morocco by digging straight down 16 feet until the layer is reached. Once the crinoid horizon is located a tunnel is dug along it by hand. The rock, dirt and crinoid slabs must then be hauled to the surface in baskets where they are reassembled and prepared. So, it is a very labor intensive process to bring a beautiful crinoid plate like this one to market.

Crinoids where animals which were rooted to the floor of the ocean by a stem and had many armored feeding arms which they used to filter the water for food. They first appeared in the Ordovician period and are still alive today.

Like all of the crinoid plates from this location there is repair/restoration work done to the
plate as they come out of the ground in pieces that have to be put back together.