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Fossil Gallery - Crinoids, Blastoids, Cystoids

Echinodermata

(Phylum)

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Red text = needs information

Fossil identification by Jo Cox unless otherwise noted

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Crinoids, Blastoids, and Cystoids are animals even though they resemble plants and have been called sea-lilies and feather stars. 12.0pt;color:black">  They have five-part symmetry and are kin to urchins and starfish.

Crinoids plates are the most common Pennsylvanian fossils.  These soft bodied animals had a skeleton structure of plates and spines covered with a leathery skin.  The main body is made up of a flat cup, a ring of flexible arms, and a mushroom-shaped tube (tegmen).  The top of the tegmen is often ringed with spines that may have held an umbrella membrane.  Some species cups are ringed in triangular spines, while others are rather long.  The arms often divide, sometimes several times.  The surfaces of the tegmen and inner arms grew celia (hairs) that directed water currents toward the animal's mouth.  The bottom of the cup attaches to a long stem.  The stem was made up of discs that can be round, oval, spiraled, or stars, they often have a hole in the center.  Stem segments are sometimes called “pop rocks” because they explode in a fire, like popcorn.  A root-like structure anchored the animal to the sea floor but did not absorb nutrients like a plant's root.

Blastoids resemble crinoids, but their body was more compact and topped by a brush-like strainer instead of arms.

Cystoids, also called sea-lilies, have a ball-shaped body (calyx) that is made of plates.  This animal would have attached itself to the ocean floor by a segmented stem and root-like anchor.

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Crinoidea

(Class)

Crawford villensis

Period: Mississippian, Edwardsville Formation

Location: Montgomery Co., Indiana (purchased)

Collection: Judie Ostlien

Size: 162 mm tall block

Crawford villensis - Indiana 1a.jpg (222987 bytes)

 

?

(like Hydreimocunus sp.)

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: north of Cisco, Texas

Collection: Jo Cox

Size: ? mm (left), ? mm (center), 14 mm wide (right)

crinoid plates.jpg (60493 bytes)

Description: assorted crinoid plates

 

?

(like Hydreimocunus sp. and Plaxocrinus macrospiniferus)

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: north of Cisco, Texas

Collection: Jo Cox

Size: ? mm long (left and longest in 2nd photo)

crinoid spine.jpg (71480 bytes)   Crinoid spines.jpg (124817 bytes)

Description: crinoid tegmen spines

 

?

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: north of Cisco, Texas

Collection: Jo Cox

Size: 28 mm long

crinoid spine regrow.jpg (126219 bytes)

Description: crinoid anal or brachial spine.  The base (large end) is broken off.  The point end broke while the animal still lived and started regenerating.

 

Erisocrinus elevatus

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: near Brownwood, Texas

Collection: Hardin-Simmons University

Size: 28 mm wide

Erisocrinus elevatus - Crinoid dorsal cup 1.jpg (702454 bytes)   Erisocrinus elevatus - Crinoid dorsal cup 1a.jpg (81446 bytes)

Description: Crinoid dorsal cup (base of head)

 

?

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: near Brownwood, Texas

Collection: Hardin-Simmons University

Size: 16 mm wide

(unknown) crinoid dorsal cup.jpg (97091 bytes)

Description: Crinoid dorsal cup (base of head)

 

Delocrinus sp.

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: near Brownwood, Texas

Collection: Hardin-Simmons University

Size: 16 mm wide

Delocrinus sp. - crinoid dorsal cup.jpg (89296 bytes)

Description: Crinoid dorsal cup (base of head)

 

?

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: north of Cisco, Texas

Collection: Jo Cox

Size: 12 mm Dia (right segment),  16 mm long stem, 55 mm long stem (longest)

crinoid stem rings.jpg (66113 bytes)   crinoid stems 1a.jpg (61105 bytes)   crinoid stems 1b.jpg (40883 bytes)

Description: assorted crinoid stems

 

?

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: near Brownwood, Texas

Collection: Hardin-Simmons University

Size: 16 mm Dia., 16 mm Dia., 14 mm Dia.

crinoid stem - star, large.jpg (374916 bytes)   crinoid stem - star.jpg (392141 bytes)   crinoid stem segment - offset.jpg (283239 bytes)

Description: Crinoid stem segments

 

?

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: ?

Collection: Hardin-Simmons University

Size: 54 mm tall

crinoid stem - large.jpg (62143 bytes)

Description: Crinoid stem

 

?

Period: ?

Location: Taylor Co., Texas

Collection: Judie Ostlien

Size: 5 mm Dia.

crinoid stem impression.jpg (70040 bytes)

Description: Impression of a crinoid stem segment in chert

 

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Blastoidea

(Class)

?

Period: Pennsylvanian

Location: ? (purchased)

Collection: Jo Cox

Size: ? mm tall>

X

Description: the body (theca)

 

?

(like Troosticrinus sp.)

Period: ?

Location: ?

Collection: Hardin-Simmons University

Size: 22 mm tall x 22 mm wide

(unknown) blastoid theca 1.jpg (69841 bytes)

Description: the body (theca)

 

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Cystoidea

(Class)

?

Period: ?

Location: ?

Collection: Judie Ostlien

Size: ? mm Dia.

X

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