r/fossilid 2d ago

Are these real?

Post image
1.9k Upvotes

64 comments sorted by

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643

u/Royal_Acanthaceae693 2d ago

They are crinoids which are echinoderms. They are in the same phylum as sea urchins, sand dollars, and star fish.

137

u/Hiimpaul7103 2d ago

Ohh thank you I was wondering if it was real or if it was generated

170

u/e-wing 2d ago

Yes they are real, they are Jimbacrinus bostocki Crinoids from the Permian of Western Australia, probably the Cundlego Formation. Incredible death assemblage aka a thanatocoenosis.

21

u/adrifing 1d ago edited 1d ago

Curiosity aside, did they stand on the seafloor and extend upwards and move about as such or behave similar to jellyfish.

Is this also a uncommon cluster for them or has a lot been found like this

(Got a few AI answers and do not trust them 😂) (Edited due to seafloor error)

34

u/TheGreenMan13 1d ago edited 1d ago

They are still around. Do a search for "crinoinds" or "sea lilies". There are (mostly) sessile, stocked species and more mobile, non-stalked species (feather stars).

3

u/dorian_white1 21h ago

Most Crinoids stayed in one place, However some species had the ability to move to more favorable location, or to avoid predators. They are still around in some form, they LOOK like plants, but are actually an invertebrate animal.

This is an incredibly rare death assemblage. I have a collection of crinoid fossils from the Carboniferous period, and I think they are fascinating. They truly seem alien, but back in the day, the sea floors were carpeted with them.

Here’s an example of a modern crinoid.

I have a collection of Carboniferous crinoids, and I’m fascinated by the little critters.

15

u/noxaeter 1d ago

You can't convince me that starfish aren't from another planet either! I mean, it's in their name!

3

u/othelloblack 1d ago

I would have said pachyderms but echinoderms makes sense

2

u/QuantumMrKrabs 22h ago

They’re our closest related invertebrates because of where their butthole is on their body. Weird.

2

u/camrin47 18h ago

Rest in peace little buddies

1

u/Interesting-Hair2060 1d ago

Oh I’m glad you said something cus I was gunna guess carpoids. Which I felt wasn’t right but I’ve never seen crinoids

103

u/Best-Reality6718 2d ago

The detail is incredible!

122

u/g_o_o_d- 2d ago

They look so much like the mechanical creatures in the Matrix movies.

28

u/O_Elbereth 2d ago

Oh! That's what they were reminding me of! I was thinking it was maybe Lovecraft, but no it's absolutely Matrix.

4

u/monsternorth 1d ago

Looks like cthulu's head to me, got strong south park/rick and morty vibes when I seen it.

2

u/ApportArcane 1d ago

That’s what I thought!

18

u/sotiredaboutus 2d ago

Wow they do indeed look alien when fossilized ☺️

88

u/Supersonic_Nomad 2d ago edited 1d ago

We have a lot of them in Indiana. But those are exceptional. I think those came from the Wabash River.

38

u/Maleficent_Chair_446 2d ago

It's from australia

22

u/Supersonic_Nomad 2d ago

Wow cool, I know there's a gentleman that owns some land on the Wabash River in Indiana and he found a bunch of these like this and they're on like slates and he cuts them out and they're in just incredible shape just like these. I know they sell them online and I think the name of the site is fossils for sale or fossils something or other. I sure would like to find them like that..mine are so deteriorated you can barely even tell what they are. Thanks for the info! good day mate!

6

u/Maleficent_Chair_446 2d ago

Sounds like Indiana haha keep a look out for flexicalymene meeki as well fairly common

6

u/qwertyahill 2d ago

Where in Indiana? I’ll need to make a trip lol

7

u/Supersonic_Nomad 1d ago edited 1d ago

It's where the Wabash River goes through Lafayette Indiana. There's a gentleman there who owns some land on the Wabash River and he found a huge amount of crinoids and they were found on slate rock. He was cutting them out and selling them and I believe he still is. They're in the exceptional condition as the ones posted here. I'm trying to remember the site I seen them on. I think it was called "fossils for sale" or something along those lines.

6

u/Judith_877 1d ago

Southeast Indiana at/near the Ohio state line. It's called the Cincinnati Arch. The structure there has Ordovician limestone exposed in the core, and contains many many fossils, including brachiopods, crinoids, trilobites and coral. :)

2

u/Adventure-Backpacker 1d ago edited 1d ago

Finding a Crinoid calyx is quite difficult, however, there is a location on Sugar Creek near Crawfordsville where the entire crinoid is preserved. This is private property unfortunately. My suggestion for Crinoid fossil hunting in Indiana is along the shore where Allen’s Creek feeds into Lake Monroe. Walk up the shore from the Boat Ramp. This is also known as Crinoid Beach. Some of the stems are as big half dollars. Especially at the very western end of the shore facing the big water.

2

u/HeavenHellorHoboken 2d ago

It’s no longer anywhere near the ocean

8

u/qwertyahill 2d ago

Indiana? I know lol

13

u/Hiimpaul7103 2d ago

Thank you to everyone who helped 🙏🏽

11

u/Mabbernathy 2d ago

Wow. I've seen dozens of crinoid stem fossils and have a few of them I've found myself, but this is the first time I'm seeing the actual whole creature.

17

u/benrinnes 2d ago

They're so good I'd automatically think they were faked. Never found anything like that.

6

u/Affectionate_Name332 1d ago

Until now, I had always thought that crinoids were plants. I'm so excited that I saw this post and learned some fascinating information on these guys.

7

u/Maleficent_Chair_446 2d ago

Yes these are jimbacrinus

5

u/PremSubrahmanyam 2d ago

Specifically, Jimbacrinus bostocki from Western Australia.

3

u/Maleficent_Chair_446 2d ago

More specifically from the permian

3

u/HornetOne28 1d ago

Was this in the field or on display??

3

u/genderissues_t-away 1d ago

VERY nice death assemblage of crinoids!

3

u/mystertoots 1d ago

Those look like the inspiration for the Sentinels in the matrix

2

u/Pleasant_Crab6684 1d ago

Tentacool, yep!

4

u/UseenForeseeness 2d ago

I mean.... they are from a different planet essentially....

6

u/thanatocoenosis Paleozoic invertebrates 2d ago

Nah. They still live in the oceans(comulatids), today, though, the image shows camerates which went extinct during end-Palaezoic extinction event.

3

u/Haloed_Squirrel 1d ago

While these were real creatures, I think this photo is AI generated. The state of the fossils and the details are far too perfect. I call 🐴💩.

2

u/topouzid 2d ago

I think I’ve seen something like that in The Matrix

2

u/isekaied_here 2d ago

Omg they are so pretty? Is there a market for this kind of fossils? 🤩

9

u/thanatocoenosis Paleozoic invertebrates 2d ago

Yes. Intact crinoids are highly collectable. Their body is made of hundreds of plates(ossicles), so when they die, the ligaments and muscles holding the plates together rot away and the body disarticulates spreading the plates across the sea floor.

These organisms were prolific in the Paleozoic, and some limestone units are composed, nearly entirely, of the disarticulated remains(encrinites, crinoidal packstones/grainstones, etc.), so while fragments of them are very common, whole specimens of the calyx are kind of rare.

Couple of camerates(Reteocrinus) from the Ordovician of Kentucky- https://imgur.com/9LcCqZk

3

u/Maleficent_Chair_446 2d ago

Yeah jimbacrinus

1

u/arob1606 20h ago

You know, you’re not far off when stating they look like they come from a different planet. Animals from that time look utterly foreign to our understanding of sea life toda.

1

u/pshupe1 18h ago

It’s the Zeffonians😳

1

u/BobaFettishx82 7h ago

Looks like something Geiger would have painted.

1

u/Oldpennyormore 2d ago

Ancient plants ? 😍

-4

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

8

u/PunkAssBitch2000 2d ago

They’re crinoids