Feather Stars / Crinoids
An echinoderm that is stunning in appearance, and also share an extensive history with the earth itself
Crinoids/Feather stars are marine invertebrates that are a part of the crinoidea class, and also belong to the phylum echinodermata. Crinoids come in a variety of different forms, crinoids which are connected by a stalk during their adult phase are often referred to as sea lilies, while ones that aren’t and are able to freely move around are called feather stars. Adult and fully matured crinoids have their mouth located on the upper portion of their body which is surrounded by multiple arms it uses for feeding, this part of a crinoids body is connected directly to their gut. Like most other echinoderms, if a crinoid were to lose an arm to an injury they would be able to regenerate the lost limb.
This is an ancient fossil of a stalked crinoid, roughly dating back to 345 million years ago from the Mississippian period which showcases the crinoid’s extensive history.
Extensive History
Feather Stars/Crinoids have existed on earth for approximately 500 million years and are some of the oldest living animals on earth, with their fossils dating back to the middle of the Cambrian Period. Crinoids used to have a much wider variety of species living on earth in ancient times but would suffer a decline in species diversity due to mass extinction events, the biggest example being the Permian Mass Extinction. Back then, crinoids were a very diverse species with thousands of now extinct species that existed in their prime, with only 700 known crinoid species being discovered in modern times.
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