Question

On thewikipedia page of crinoids(sea lilies and feather stars), one can find the following statement in the paragraph Morphology: [...] and fossil species are known with 20 m (66 ft) stems, the largest recorded crinoid having a stem 40 m (130 ft) in length. They also give some sources for this, but they also just mention the fact without specifying the fossil/species. When searching on the internet about the largest known crinoid species, one can find very often similar claims, but again without any source (probably coming from wikipedia in the end). In general, I am slightly doubting the statement about 40m of length: Statements about size of large organisms are very often exaggerated. For example, in popular science books, one can often find lengths for the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) of about 20m, while the truely largest individual every measured with scientific methods was probably only about 12m (see the paperherefor example), which is of course still pretty impressive. In the words of S. J. Gould:Our strong and biased predilection for focusing on extremes generates all manner of deep and stubborn errors. Anyway, I would like to know how large/tall crinoids can get by knowing how large the largest species ever to be found was (preferably with a scientific resource supporting the claim). On my internet research, I found the speciesSeirocrinus subangularis(Miller, 1821) from the early Jurassic with stem lengths of about 20m, although also here the statements about size vary a lot from 15 to 25m and I am not able to find a precise, confirmed, statement. Probably 40ft not 40m Without a species name any claim like this is dubious. The wiki quote is not from a primary source but a fluff book which makes it even more questionable. Unfortunately you are running into a issue were a lot of early paleontology work has not been digitized yet. the specimen in question is from 1906 so finding a digital copy to confirm is basically impossible. So we can only rely on the questionable sourcing to determine how accurate it is. My best guess is this is a misquote on a real specimen. has article about largest known crinoid specimens. Taxocrinus saratogensis One of the largest fossil crinoids ever discovered was found in the state of Indiana in the United States. The crinoid, which belongs to the species Taxocrinus saratogensis, was discovered in 1906 by a team of geologists led by John M. Clarke. The

specimen is estimated to be around 350 million years old and is believed to have lived during the Devonian period. The crinoid is
incredibly large, with a stem measuring more than 40 feet in length and a crown that measures more than 10 feet in diameter. The entire specimen is estimated to have weighed more than 10 tons when it was alive. This makes it one of the largest fossil crinoids ever
discovered.

Answer 1

Crinoids, also known as sea lilies and feather stars, are marine animals with long stems and feathery arms for suspension feeding. Fossil records, such as Seirocrinus subangularis and Taxocrinus saratogensis, indicate that some ancient crinoids reached impressive lengths, with stems measuring approximately 20 meters and over 40 feet respectively.

Step-by-step explanation:

Crinoids, commonly known as sea lilies and feather stars, are fascinating marine animals that belong to the Class Crinoidea. They are known for their distinctive morphology, which includes a long stem and feathery arms used to capture food particles in suspension feeding. Throughout history, various sizes of crinoids have been recorded, with fossil evidence suggesting significant variation.

Specifically, the species Seirocrinus subangularis from the early Jurassic is often cited with stem lengths of approximately 20 meters. Another notable example is Taxocrinus saratogensis, a large fossil crinoid discovered in Indiana, which had a stem measuring over 40 feet in length. These incredible sizes have sparked discussions and research into the physical boundaries of these ancient organisms.