Crinoid

Parulocrinus cf. P. beedei

• Pennsylvanian
• Ames Limestone, Conemaugh Group
• Meigs County, Ohio, USA

Size: 9.5 cm crown

According to Peter Holterhoff this crinoid is of the genus Parulocrinus considering its flat base, two anal plates, and extra branching in the A, C and D rays. What really makes this specimen special is its provenance. It comes from an obscure locality known as the Ames Limestone, which is a latest-Pennsylvanian (Virgilian) formation and east of the more typical North American Pennsylvanian crinoid localities. J. J. Burke wrote a series of papers in the 1900s describing various crinoids from the Ames, but to my knowledge no Parulocrinus or similar Cromyocrinids were discussed, much less such complete crowns.

This specimen appears most similar to Parulocrinus beedei considering its relatively small pentagonal infrabasal circlet with large stem impression, though its size and calyx proportions are closer to those of Parulocrinus blairi (Moore & Plummer 1940).