Any member of the class Crinoidea, marine animals related to starfish and sea urchins, with feathery arms radiating from a cup-shaped body.
From Latin crinis meaning hair plus the biological suffix -id. The name refers to the hair-like appearance of the animal's feathery arms that filter-feed in ocean currents.
Crinoids are ancient creatures that have existed for over 480 million years and dominated Paleozoic oceans, yet they're rarely mentioned in popular science—their fossils are common, which is why sea lilies (crinoid fossils) appear in natural history museums around the world.
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