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The Class Crinoidea contains many brightly-colored, beautiful echinoderms known as sea lilies and feather stars. These animals are mostly deep water forms that are abundant in the fossil record. Sea lilies are permanently attached to the substrate by a stalk, while feather stars (shown on the image above) are swimming or crawling animals that can attach to the substrate using a ring of claw-like projections called cirri. Most crinoids are suspension feeders, using tube feet on their feather-like arms to trap small organisms, which are then passed to the mouth. Note that unlike other echinoderms, the oral surface of sea lilies and feather stars is directed upward (rather than toward the substrate). |
