416 / Paleozoic
Cyclocrinites
Cyclocrinites dactioloides
Whorled calcified branches surrounded a central axis like an underwater bottlebrush.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 460–430 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Silurian
- Geographic range
- Warm shallow seas · North America and Europe
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Cyclocrinites?
Cyclocrinites (Cyclocrinites dactioloides) was an extinct organism known from About 460–430 million years ago, with a range in Warm shallow seas · North America and Europe.
Life and ecology
This dasyclad-like green alga formed dense stands and contributed carbonate sediment.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Cyclocrinites disappear?
Sea-level change and turnover in shallow marine communities are possible context; a specific cause is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Cyclocrinites?
Calcified segments preserve the central cavity and regular lateral branches.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS