Onychocrinus

Onychocrinus
Temporal range: Carboniferous
Fossil of Onychocrinus species from Carboniferous of United States
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Crinoidea
Order: †Taxocrinida
Family: †Synerocrinidae
Genus: †Onychocrinus
Lyon and Casseday, 1860

Onychocrinus is an extinct genus of feathered crinoids that lived during the Carboniferous period, approximately 353.8 to 318.1 million years ago. It belonged to the family Synerocrinidae.

Description

Onychocrinus exhibited the typical anatomy of crinoids, characterized by a cup-shaped calyx and multiple feathery arms used for suspension feeding. The dorsal cup was relatively low, and the arms were branching and often contracted in fossilized specimens. It also had a long stem (column).

Fossil records

This genus is known in the fossil records of the Carboniferous period of United States and Canada.

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Lyon, S. S. and S. A. Casseday. 1860. A synonymic list of the Echinodermata of the Palaeozoic rocks of North America. Proceedings of the American Academy of Science and Arts 4::282–304.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Paleobiology Database