Blastoid

/ˈblæstɔɪd/ noun

Definition

An extinct marine animal from ancient seas that resembled a crinoid (sea lily) and had a bud-like body structure.

Etymology

From Greek 'blasto-' (bud) plus '-oid' (resembling), named because their rounded bodies resembled a budding or sprouting form, identified by paleontologists in the 1800s.

Kelly Says

Blastoids were among the ocean's strangest creatures—they looked like tiny buds attached to the seafloor, filter-feeding through feathery arms, and mysteriously disappeared after 150 million years of success.

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