Floating Crinoid (Saccocoma pectinata) - Altmühltal Fm. - Solnhofen, Germany

Description

Species: Saccocoma pectinata
Formation: Solnhofen Limestone (Altmühltal Formation)
Locality: Solnhofen, Germany
Age: Jurassic, 150.8-145.5 million years old
This is an authentic floating crinoid from Solnhofen, Germany. Fossils from Solnhofen are highly desired due to their rarity and the history of the site as a significant fossil locality, famous for being the discovery site of Archaeopteryx.
The floating crinoids were an unusual type of crinoid that floated freely rather than existing anchored to the sea floor. Crinoids are a strange type of animal that superficially resembled a plant, with their branch-like feeding arms, which they use to feed on plankton. They belong in the echinoderm family alongside starfish, sea urchins, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, and sand dollars. 600 species of crinoid are alive today, but they were significantly more diversified during the late Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
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