Crinoids
 The
Crinoid, Encrinite or 'Sea Lily' is exclusively a sea animal. Though
resembling a plant it is a member of the Phylum Echinodermata.
All echinoderms are characterised by their unusual body shape, they have
five fold radial symmetry, which means that their body features, such as the
feeding arms on crinoids, are all in multiples of five.
 The
crinoid 'skeleton' is made of countless small calcareous plates held
together with soft tissue. Following death these plates soon fall apart and
so intact crinoids are rare as fossils, being preserved only under unusual
circumstances.
Again, these can show up on any beaches around the world. At first sight
resembling brittlestars, these animals are typically nocturnal inhabitants
of coral reefs, clasping onto rocks and corals. The deep sea is the home of
rare populations of crinoids tethered by stalks to the sea-bed.
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