Sunday, March 19, 2023

Echinocrinites fenestratus Cystoid Fossil

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Specimen Catalog Number:  USNM PAL 35091 Specimen 2 GUID:     http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/m3c65a4dfe-ad99-45cc-8f4a-0217d73e8a45 Photographer Suzanne McIntire. Specimen housed in the collections of the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Echinocrinites fenestratus
(Troost, 1850) cystoid fossil described in A Critical Summary of Troost's Unpublished Manuscript on the Crinoids of Tennessee by Elvira Wood 1909. This cystoid was found in Brownsport limestone of Decatur County Tennessee USA (Silurian Period). It was assigned U.S. National Museum number 35091 and identified as a holotype.While fossil is described on pages 8-9, no explanation as to why no illustration was provided. It was later renamed by Professor Charles Schuchert (1858-1942) as Tetracystis fenestratus (1904). He published about this same specimen in On Siluric and Devonic Cystidea and Camarocrinus and included three photographs at Plate XXXIV figures 6-8.

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Specimen Catalog Number:  USNM PAL 35091 Specimen 2 GUID:        http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/m36381a8a3-ba40-4d94-aea8-3a9ab5a5c632 Photographer Suzanne McIntire. Specimen housed in the collections of the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Specimen Catalog Number:  USNM PAL 35091 Specimen 2 GUID:      http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/m3168ad43c-793c-4122-bdcc-1d6c566bba8a Photographer Suzanne McIntire. Specimen housed in the collections of the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Photos are from the Smithsonian collection, first three shown from specimen 2. The record for USNM PAL 35091 lists only 1 specimen but there are six pictures and appear to be two distinct cystoid fossils. Three pictures shown below appear to be from specimen 1.

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Specimen Catalog Number:  USNM PAL 35091 Specimen 1 GUID:      http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/m360b0775e-4ca2-48cb-92e2-ca1ab25b8a70 Photographer Suzanne McIntire. Specimen housed in the collections of the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Specimen Catalog Number:  USNM PAL 35091 Specimen 1 GUID:       http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/m3a74e0aa5-fa6a-4fb5-8624-e6f4ce09d08c Photographer Suzanne McIntire. Specimen housed in the collections of the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Specimen Catalog Number:  USNM PAL 35091 Specimen 1 GUID:          http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/m3d01e00e9-334e-4fdf-a0e5-654056b7b4c0 Photographer Suzanne McIntire. Specimen housed in the collections of the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution