All articles tagged with #crinoids
A crinoid fossil of Dendrocrinus simcoensis preserves soft tissues, including tube feet, dating back more than 450 million years—making it the oldest known crinoid with soft tissue and the second ever; this rare discovery informs how crinoids fed, interacted with ancient reef ecosystems, and evolved, and underlines the importance of museum collections in enabling such breakthroughs.
A University of Oklahoma team reports a 450-million-year-old crinoid fossil (Dendrocrinus simcoensis) that preserves soft tissue—the oldest crinoid fossil with soft tissue and only the second example overall—offering rare insights into early reef life and crinoid feeding via tube feet, well before dinosaurs, and highlighting the enduring value of museum collections for new discoveries.
Researchers found spherical, ball-like skeletal arrangements in 80-million-year-old crinoid fossils (Marsupites testudinarius and Uintacrinus socialis) that resemble buckminsterfullerene structures, suggesting these shapes helped with protection and buoyancy in predator-rich ancient oceans. The design appears across wide fossil deposits but vanished in later species, leaving scientists with questions about why the form disappeared.