Think you can identify what this is? Is it a rock? A fossil? A conglomerate of melted plastic toys?
This large rock is lying in the front yard of a Redditors home in NE Missouri.
What’s interesting is that the surface of the rock is covered in what appears to be “beads” or “bolts”.
Think you know what it is?
What Is It?
You might have guessed that what we’re looking at here is a conglomerate of crinoid fossils. This part of the United States used to be the bottom of a large ancient ocean. And not just a short time ago. I’m talking approximately 350 million years ago! It’s crazy to think that we get to witness snapshots of creatures that lived that long ago still today.
What are Crinoid Fossils?
Crinoid fossils are the remains of ancient marine animals that belonged to a group known as echinoderms, which also includes starfish and sea urchins. These organisms resembled plants with their stalk-like bodies topped with feathery arms, used for feeding, hence their nickname “sea lilies.”
Crinoids lived in both shallow water and deep sea environments. Their fossils, found worldwide, provide important insights into marine life from as far back as the Ordovician period, over 485 million years ago!
