Pyritized Crinoid

Pyritized Crinoid
Pentacrinus fossilis
Lower Jurassic, Sinemurian
Lyme Regis, England
A marvelous pyritized crinoid plaque exhibiting amazing detail. Pyrite mineral replacement lends an elegant, subtly glistening coloration. Pentacrinus was a floating sea lily which attached to wood during adulthood and filter-fed on plankton. Generous size and excellent preservation recommend the present fine exhibit specimen. Its origin, Lyme Regis, is famous as the birthplace of earth science. On these English beaches, Mary Anning, at only twelve years of age, found the first complete ichthyosaur ever discovered in England. Measuring 51 1/2 x 38 1/4in