6.3" Fossil Crinoid and Starfish Association - Crawfordsville, Indiana

Fossil Crinoid and Starfish Association - Crawfordsville, Indiana #149017

These are five separate species of crinoids that preserved in association with a .8" wide starfish (Onychaster flexilis - #89) from the famous crinoid beds near Crawfordsville, Indiana. The crinoids include a Cyathocrinites harrodi crinoid (#16), a Goniocrinus harrisi crinoid (#26), a Histocrinus coreyi crinoid (#28), an Ulrichicrinus coryphaeus crinoid (#50) and Macrocrinus mundulus crinoid (#69). The quality of preparation on these fossils is exquisite - using skillful air-abrasion techniques under a stereo microscope.

There is a repaired crack through the middle of this specimen that cuts through the Cyathocrinites and Ulrichicrinus crinoids. The Macrocrinus crinoid appears to have been remounted to the rock. It comes with an acrylic display stand.

#16 - Cyathocrinites harrodi (2.35" long including stem)
#26 - Goniocrinus harrisi (.6" long)
#28 - Histocrinus coreyi (.85" long)
#50 - Ulrichicrinus coryphaeus (2.9" long including stem)
#69 - Macrocrinus mundulus (2" long)
#89 - Onychaster flexilis (.8" wide starfish)

Crinoids from the Ramp Creek Limestone were likely 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