There is nothing special about a rock full of crinoid fossils except that I find it very cool, and since this is my blog, I get to declare such things. Maybe it has to do with the fact that crinoid segments were the first real fossils I had found on my own as a pup. Even then I knew instantly that I was gazing across millions of years to a world unlike my own.
These crinoids are also in a world unlike my own -- or they would be if the lake held its water. The rocks most abundant with the fossils are down in the bottom of the lakebed, and in a perfect world, they would be under ten feet of water. In a sense, then, these critters would be at home. Crinoids were a marine animal -- not a plant though their growth habit and appearance would suggest that -- that flourished in the Mississipian period hundreds of millions of years ago when the limestone that underlies Roundrock was laid down. Crinoids were thriving in this part of the world long before the meteor struck nearby. Their relatives are alive today in the form of sea stars, sea urchins, and the like. One geologist I met said that if he could travel through time he would not want to see the dinosaurs but rather would like to have a nice scuba set with him so he could prowl the warm-water seas and look at the colorful and diverse underwater life that flourished in this era.
Just like the round rocks, these crinoid segments call out to be collected. Perhaps I could accumulate enuf of these to put on a string and adorn the neck of my love.
Missouri Calendar:
- Cedar apple rust appears.
- Coyotes bear young through May.
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April 24th, 2006 at 2:01 am
You have so many interesting things on your land. Are you planning to build a home there in the future?
Seems I learn something new every time I visit your blog.
April 24th, 2006 at 9:25 am
Disagree with first part of first sentence. Very special…cool fossils. I know what you meant, they are common, but I like to gaze across time also.
Planted a chestnut tree Saturday and was rewarded with a large flint flake from the original owners…
April 24th, 2006 at 9:46 am
Cool crinoids. I’m always thrilled when I find a fossil. No matter what it is, holding something millions of years old in the palm of my hand is special. A necklack for Libby is such a great idea. I hope you get to do it.
April 24th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
“One geologist I met said ….”
I’ll second the sentiment expressed by your geologist acquaintance. I wouldn’t mind doing that as well, but I would also include an UW video system to my time-travel dive bag.
April 24th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
You’re making me homesick.
April 24th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
Are those the things that look like washers?
April 25th, 2006 at 6:52 am
Yup – agreed with all above – every fossilization event is an amazing thing. Crinoids are excellent!
I sure wish I lived in a geology that was kind to fossilization but I suspect ours are all covered over with hundreds of feet of clay, leaving us with only the dead granite igneous rock and the the cheap crumbly conglomerates we laughingly call rock.
April 25th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
I don’t know which I like better…the round rocks or the cool crinoids. Very, very cool.
March 5th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
I LIVED IN INDIANA AND FOUND 100′S OF THE CRINOIDS.I WAS THRILLED EVERYTIME I FOUND 1.I ALSO FOUND A SMALL STONE WITH A FACE ON IT IN THE CREEK THERE. I CANT SEEM TO BE ABLE TO FIND AGAIN THE SITE THAT TALKS ABOUT IT.I MET A MAN THAT WANTED THAT STONE REAL BAD….I STILL HAVE IT.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
I just went out today with my kid and found lots of crinoid stem segments. I live in N. Oklahoma, we went to the Arkanas river bed. The fossils are embedded in a matrix of 99% complete fossilized material, it must have been pretty shallow inland sea around here. Like, the whole rock segment is mollusks, worms, etc. Pretty amazing!