Thursday, October 4, 2018

Sea Lilies and Feather Stars

Crinoid fossils naturally contain small holes...the fossilized segments became a staple in rosary beading, and are still heavily associated with St. Cuthbert.
~Cynthia Griffith

Marine animals called crinoids today. Crinoids attached to the sea bottom by a stalk are called sea lilies and unstalked crinoids are called feather stars.

Colorful crinoids at shallow waters of Gili Lawa Laut, Indonesia
photo by Alexander Vasenin

Proisocrinus ruberrimus, a Proisocrinidae
NOAA Photo Library

Two Crinoids
NOAA Photo Library

Crinoid on the reef of Batu Moncho Island (near Komodo, Indonesia)
photo by Alexander Vasenin

Feather Star Crinoid
NOAA Photo Library

A stalked crinoid
by Ernst Haeckel

Fossil crinoids in chalk
photo by James St. John


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3 comments:

  1. Linda BOctober 4, 2018 at 9:40 AM

    I only saw these once (for real) off the coast of Santa Barbara, diving with students. They were so beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. PopOctober 4, 2018 at 9:52 AM

    Just gorgeous...nature's artwork!

    Found particularly interesting "Fossil crinoids in chalk"; this gives an excellent view of their structure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brenda at FriendlyFairyTalesOctober 4, 2018 at 6:22 PM

    Gorgeous life under the sea. I've always enjoyed the clear water and snorkeling of the Caribbean. I miss it. Any idea when the PF post will be up?

    ReplyDelete