Small Cyathocrinites Iowensis Crinoid - Indiana

This is a small Cyathocrinites Iowensis crinoid from the famous Crawfordsville, Indiana crinoid localities. It has been prepared using air abrasives and is wonderfully detailed.

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.