CMNH 5955, Histocrinus aegina (Hall, 1863)

3D Model

CMNH 5955, Histocrinus aegina (Hall, 1863)

Age: Early Mississippian (Kinderhookian)

Rock unit: Meadville Shale Member of the Cuyahoga Formation

Locality: Lodi, Medina Co., OH

Collector and donor: Gary Meszaros Date collected: 1982 or earlier

Sea lilies (more properly known as crinoids) are marine filter-feeders which latch onto surfaces underwater. Their arms extend out from its cup or calyx, the structure at the end of its column. These organisms survive by catching small particles of food with their arms and pulling these scraps into their mouths. Don’t let the flower-like shape of this “lily” deceive you - crinoids are actually animals. (William Ausich 1996, “Phylum Echinodermata”). This taxon is in the Articuliformes clade, which eventually gave rise to post-Paleozoic crinoids. Thanks to Dr. William Ausich, Ohio State Univ.

Figured in Kammer, T. and Roeser, E. 2012. J. of Paleontology, 86(3), 470-487.

Image by Jacob Kordeleski, CMNH Dept of Archaeology // Hawken School