Photo: Crinoid, Jimbocrinus bostocki, Permian, Northwest Basin, Australia. Prepared
by Bob Howell, Geoscience Enterprises. Reference: Phillips Natural History Catalogs.
Photography: Richard P. Goodbody, Inc.
Crinoids are part of a large group of marine invertebrate
animals called echinoderms. Other echinoderms include starfish, brittle stars, sand
dollars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Crinoids are unusual looking animals because they
resemble plants more than animals. Crinoids are more commonly known as "Sea
Lillies", a colloquial nomenclature which relates to their flower-like appearance.
Crinoids
filter plankton from sea water and evolved a plant-like morphology so that they could
remain attached to the sea floor. They were once thought to be extinct until found at
great depths in the seas off Norway. Comparitively wide spread in the fossil record,
excellent crinoid fossils are associated with the Ordovician in Morocco, the Mississippian
of the central U.S. and Canada, the Jurassic - Triassic of Germany, the Permian of
Australia and Timor, and the Tertiary of Oregon. These Jimbocrinus bostocki
are of Permian Age and were found in NorthWest Australia.
Australian Crinoids currently
available
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