Eocrinoidea
Sign in to saveThe Eocrinoidea were an extinct class of echinoderms that lived between the Early Cambrian and Late Silurian periods. They are the earliest known group of stalked, brachiole-bearing echinoderms, and were the most common echinoderms during the Cambrian.
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Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Phylogeny
- Early evolution
- Relationships to other groups
- References
- Works cited
The Eocrinoidea were an extinct class of echinoderms that lived between the Early Cambrian and Late Silurian periods. They are the earliest known group of stalked, brachiole-bearing echinoderms, and were the most common echinoderms during the Cambrian.
The earliest genera had a short holdfast and irregularly structured plates. Later forms had a fully developed stalk with regular rows of plates. They were benthic suspension feeders, with five ambulacra on the upper surface, surrounding the mouth and extending into a number of narrow arms.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Eocrinoidea” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.