Crinoids
Sea lilies, usually found as circular stem segments in limestone.
Ordovician to present; commonest in Carboniferous limestone. · Easy to find
What is it?
Crinoids, or sea lilies, are echinoderms that lived anchored to the sea floor on a flexible stem. The stems break into discs after death, and these ossicles are often the most abundant fossil in a Carboniferous limestone. Complete heads are rare and prized.
What does it look like?
Small circular or star-centred discs a few millimetres across, sometimes still stacked into short lengths of stem resembling a screw thread.
How to identify it
- 01Look for the central hole or star in each disc.
- 02Wet limestone surfaces show them far better than dry ones.
- 03Sections of stacked stem look like tiny fossil screws.
Where to find crinoids in the UK
- 01Robin Hood's BayNorth Yorkshire · Yorkshire and the North East coastAmmonites · Belemnites · Bivalves · CrinoidsEasyFamily friendlyBeach, Geological siteExplore location →
- 02Dunraven Bay, SoutherndownVale of Glamorgan · WalesAmmonites · Bivalves · Brachiopods · BelemnitesEasyFamily friendlyBeach, Cliff, Geological siteExplore location →
- 03Llantwit MajorVale of Glamorgan · WalesAmmonites · Bivalves · Brachiopods · CrinoidsEasyFamily friendlyBeach, CliffExplore location →
- 04Howick HavenNorthumberland · Northumberland and DurhamCorals · Brachiopods · Crinoids · BivalvesModerateFamily friendlyBeach, Geological siteExplore location →