Rare Perhistoric Crinoid Fossil

Rare & beautiful Prehistoric Scyphocrinites Crinoid fossil specimen in matrix. Morocco origin. 8 1/2" H X 4 1/2" W. Crinoid Fossils make up the class Crinoidea of the Echinoderms (Phylum Echinodermata). The earliest known Crinoids were in the Cambrian period about 488 million years ago. At that time the supercontinent Gondwana was in the southern hemisphere & contained most of the land. Crinoids were some of the earliest animals to live in the ocean. The Crinoid had a stem with a crown consisting of a central body with arms usually branched and feathery. This gives it a lily-like appearance. Crinoids ate bits of small organisms & obtained nutrients from plankton, detritus, and larva.