Swaying gracefully in the currents, both water and time, is one of the most beautiful, enduring and enigmatic creatures to ever grace our (or perhaps any) planet. Crinoids , which means "lily like", belong to a class of animal called echinoderms, meaning "spiny skinned". Unlike their near relatives, starfish and sea urchins, these armored plant-like animals gave up the freedom of movement for permanent attachment. The stalked, flower-like creatures, with their 5-fold symmetry, spread delicate feeding arms to filter microorganisms from the water. These feather-like filters are clearly visible between the arms in our exact cast of an ancient crinoid fossil. Don’t mistake delicate beauty for weakness! These survivors first appear in the early Cambrian Period, about half a billion years ago, and survived a major extinction at the end of the Palaeozoic Era 240 million years ago. They exist in all oceans, from sunlit reefs to dark frigid waters, and to ocean depths of 13,000 ft. Some species are 50-60 feet long, with between 5 and 200 arms each of which can reach 4 ft. in length. Today they can still be found attached to rocks at least 300 ft. under the ocean, dangling elegantly on their long stem. Share some space with a crinoid - a real survivor.

ID #: FPCS001F