This fossil crinoid, Pterotocrinus acutus var. spondylus, was found in 330-million-year-old limestone in Laurel County, Kentucky. Crinoids are animals that live in the sea and are related to starfish. They differ from most other living members of their phylum (Echinodermata) by being attached to the sea bottom by a stem (not preserved in this specimen). This crinoid had five radially-directed spines to protect it from being eaten by sharks that lived in the ancient sea in Kentucky. This fossil was found in Mississippian-age limestone; the Mississippian is sometimes called the "Age of Crinoids" because they were very abundant during that time. Image Copyrighted by Don Chesnut, 1996.

ADVISORY BOARD

Role: Advice and Regional Representation

Dr. Ross Clark, Chairperson, Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Kentucky University
Dr. J. G. Rodriguez, Executive Secretary, Kentucky Academy of Science
Dr. Charles Boehms, President, Kentucky Academy of Science
Mr. Landon E. McKinney, President, Kentucky Native Plant Society
Mr. Landon E. McKinney, Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission
Dr. Patricia Pearson, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Kentucky State University
Dr. Gerald DeMoss, Acting Dean for College of Arts and Sciences, Morehead State University
Dr. Peter W. Whaley, Department of Geosciences, Murray State University
Dr. Mary Powell, Director/Curator, Museum of Anthropology, University of Kentucky
Dr. Jerry Warner, Chairperson, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University
Dr. Rudolph Berle Clay, University of Kentucky
Dr. Donald C. Haney, Director, Kentucky Geological Survey
[no longer up to date] Dr. David Watt, Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, University of Kentucky
Dr. Burt L. Monroe, Jr., Chairperson, Department of Biology, University of Louisville
Mr. Riley Handy, Head, Department of Library Special Collections, Western Kentucky University