Lot 1202
Large 200 Million Year Old Crinoid From China. Crinoids are known as "sea lilies" even though they are not plants, but rather animals related to star fish with five-fold symmetry. This 12x11" dark gray slate slab features a superb underneath view of a fully inflated crinoid of the genus Traumatocrinus, which lived in the sea 200 million years ago in Guanling, Guizhou, China. This extremely large specimen is 8½x8½" in diameter and has a 6" long partial stem that was used to anchor it to the sea bottom where it filter-fed on small organisms that would become trapped in the feathery pinnules that connected its outstretched arms. These pinnules are clearly defined with excellent detail of even the small calcite plates that protected them and gave them the freedom to move back and forth in the water. The small trapped organisms were then slowly passed down these pinnules to the mouth, which was located in the center just above the stem. This esthetic light gray crinois is nicely contrasted against the black slate, making for a dramatic, appealing fossil. Add $45 for domestic shipping.
Estimated Value $400 - 600.
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| Realized $374 |
