Crinoid: Basal Cup
This fossil was found in the Vermillion River (it has ben coated with varnish to bring out the details). It took us a few days to figure out what it was. (cyst and seed were suggested and discarded)The fossil is the basal cup of a crinoid from the Pennsylvainian time peroiod. A crinoid is a small, animal that lives on the end of a long stalk. The basal cup is the part that hold the stalk to the seafloor. The pieces of the stalk are very common fossils often called "Indian Beads."
