CRINOID FOSSIL JIMBACRINUS BOSTOCKI, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
 
Crinoids are a type of Echinoderm marine animal, related to the start fish and sea cucumber. Originally discovered in 1949, they are an ancient fossil group that first appeared in the seas of the mid Cambrian, about 300 million years before dinosaurs. They flourished in the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic eras and some survive to the present day.
The Jimbacrinus Bostocki Crinoids are found in WA and are hard to acquire due to Australia’s strict fossil laws. This crinoid is quite a unique display of fossil to have due to its bumpy calyx, feathery arms and long stalks making it quite a detailed and extremely well preserved specimen.
Crinoids were attached to the sea floor and fed on plankton that drifted by. There long flexible stalks allowed them to anchor to the sea floor. There main body is called the calyx, his resembles a misshaped sphere that is made up of plates of calcite. The calyx is where the major organs were contained. Extending off the calyx are the arms which were lined with feather pinnules where they would filter the ocean water to gather plankton.