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Back to Crinoids


This is a small cross section form the stem of a crinoid, some of the species in the genus were fairly large and probably lived in the lower Jurassic, the sections of steam are characterized by a five pointed star shape with fine lines crossing the edges of the lobes. Complete specimens of this species aren’t found locally but parts of the stems are common in the fine gravel found on the mid beach and in small pockets in boulder clay cliffs.


Most Crinoids or Sea Lilly’s live on shallow ocean floors they are rooted to the ground and use their many arms to sieve the water form plankton, though some species of Pentacrinus attached them selves to drifted wood and let the current take them across the sea, much like modern goose barnacles, this was not a widely excepted idea, until a fossil of an adult along side several lava crinoids was discovered attached to a piece of fossilized wood.


This species probably dates to the lower Jurassic.


Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Echinodermata

Class Crinozoa

Order Isocrinida

Family Pentacrinidae

Genus Pentacrinus