Cainocrinus tintinnabulum
Cainocrinus tintinnabulum
Summary
Cainocrinus tintinnabulum was a stalked sea lily that lived fixed above the muddy London Clay sea floor. Its crown of many feathery arms would have filtered suspended food from the water, while the stalk elevated the feeding surface into moving currents.
As in other crinoids, the skeleton was built from numerous calcitic ossicles connected by soft tissues. Most fossils are therefore isolated columnals or short stem pieces; these common disarticulated remains record a suspension-feeding animal even when the feeding crown itself is absent.
Quick Identification
Look for: crinoid stem pieces made of stacked calcitic columnals, with characteristic articular surfaces and a central lumen; use facet pattern and columnal proportions to distinguish Cainocrinus from other London Clay sea lilies.
Diagnostic Features
- Stem is composed of discrete articulated columnals rather than a continuous tube.
- Columnal articular faces show a regular radial pattern around a central lumen.
- Columnal proportions and facet relief distinguish the species from co-occurring isocrinids when unworn.
- Short articulated stem sections may preserve consistent alternation in columnal size or shape.
- Species-level identification requires visible articular morphology; smooth rolled discs are not diagnostic.
Fossil Details
Similar Species
Recorded Fossil Sites
No fossil-site occurrences have yet been recorded for this species.
References
- Forbes, E. (1852). Monograph of the Echinodermata of the British Tertiaries. Palaeontographical Society Monograph View reference
- Roux, M.; Martinez, A.; Vizcaïno, D. (2021). A diverse crinoid fauna (Echinodermata, Crinoidea) from the Lower Eocene of the Gulf of Languedoc (Corbières, Aude, southern France). Zootaxa, 4963(2), 201–242 View reference