Encrinus liliiformis

Overview

Encrinus liliiformis is a crinoid with several arms spreading above a stalk anchored to the bottom. Small pinnules attach to the arms. Its flower-like outline can be examined as connections between numerous skeletal pieces.^[1]

Key facts

The arms are described as ten in number. Below them, the pentagonal calyx consists of three rings of plates. The three rings and ten arms form different regions of the body.^[1]

Time and place

It is known from Middle Triassic material in the Muschelkalk and Trochitenkalk. The Triassic as a whole spanned approximately 250–200 million years ago. Institutional descriptions introduce the connections among stalk, calyx, and arms.^[1][2]

The time range describes source context, not the complete duration of this species.

Size, form and skeleton

A stalk made of numerous ossicles rises from a disc-shaped attachment structure to a pentagonal calyx. Above the calyx lie ten arms bearing small pinnules. Different structures connect from bottom to top.^[1]

A museum account states that the stalk could grow to 150 cm. This differs from the total height including the arms and body.^[1]

Habitat and reproduction

The institution describes passive filter feeding, with the arms spread to use water currents. The arms and small pinnules above the stalk are interpreted in relation to obtaining food. The structure of an anchored body invites consideration of its relationship with water.^[1]

Fossil discovery

The Muschelkalk Museum’s account presents the attachment structure, stalk of ossicles, three-ringed calyx, and ten arms together. It helps us understand the broad body arrangement by dividing it into several hard structures.^[1]

References

1. Sea Lilies
2. International Commission on Stratigraphy (2024) — Geological time chart
3. Smithsonian Institution — Encope macrophora specimen catalogue
4. Fossil sea urchin study — Disc-shaped body of Encope

Research questions

Are the stalk and arms both repetitions of the same skeletal pieces? We can examine the stalk ossicles, rings of calyx plates, and small pinnules of the arms separately. Observation reads connections among different regions within a flower-like outline.^[1]

Observation

Follow the stalk upward from the disc-shaped attachment structure at the bottom. Examining the pentagonal calyx, ten arms, and small pinnules in turn reveals the different arrangements below and above.^[1]