The camerate crinoid Scyphocrinites Zenker in the Upper Silurian or Lower Devonian of New Brunswick, Canada

Abstract

The mid-Paleozoic Scyphocrinites Zenker has a distal attachment modified into a globular flotation structure and, uniquely for a crinoid, joined the obligate plankton. Such a flotation structure has been found in the Indian Point Formation (Pridolian to Lochkovian) of Flatlands, northern New Brunswick. It is most likely Pridolian (Upper Silurian) based on the primitive morphology. This identification is confirmed by the globular gross morphology, multi-plated calcite structure, age and similarity to coeval fossils from Cornwall, southwestern England.