Hybocrinus crinerensis

GRI #596

This sea lily is from the Bromide Formation of Oklahoma, where it is one of the most abundant crinoid fossils found at various fossiliferous levels in the Formation (Sprinkle, 1982). Its arms were unbranched and formed an open-fan system of filtration. Its short stem indicates that it probably lived just above the substrate, in the low-level tier of suspension feeders. This cladid crinoid is classified in the order Hybocrinida (Wright et al, 2017).

References:

Sprinkle, J., 1982. ‘Hybocrinus’, in Sprinkle, J. (ed.) Echinoderm Faunas from the Bromide Formation (Middle Ordovician) of Oklahoma. Lawrence: The University of Kansas Paleontological Institute, pp. 119-128.

Wright, D.F., Ausich, W.I., Cole, S.R., Peter, M.E. and Rhenberg, E.C., 2017. Phylogenetic taxonomy and classification of the Crinoidea (Echinodermata). Journal of Paleontology, 91(4), pp.829-846. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2016.142