Crinoids on the National News: Preliminary observations and implications of a new Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) lagerstatte in Wiltshire, UK
Webinar by
Tim Ewin, Natural History Museum (London).
10th May 2022, 7:00 pm
A new UK Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) lagerstätte has revealed one of the most important Jurassic echinoderm localities in the world. Excavation of the site has produced large numbers (thousands) of exceptionally preserved articulated echinoderms including at least 18 species, belonging to all five extant echinoderm classes. Fossilised purple crinoid pigment has also been found at the site. Other significant fossils include plants and Radiolaria, the latter being rarely seen in UK onshore Jurassic rocks. The fossils are preserved in various orientations, indicating brief transportation prior to rapid burial (obrution). Other shelly fauna are more disarticulated and suggest greater residency within the environment and greater transportation prior to burial. The echinoderm fossils are dominated by the true comatulid crinoid Palaeocomaster sp., represented by over 3000 individuals, and the stalked crinoid Isocrinus sp. This is the earliest incidence of true comatulid crinoids dominating a sea floor environment. It is significant as "comatulid meadows", important areas of biomass and diversity in several modern soft sea floor ecosystems (such as at continental shelf margins), are unknown in the fossil record before the Cretaceous.
Biography: I am a passionate natural history curator and palaeontologist with over 15 years' experience working within internationally renowned museums. I am a senior curator at The Natural History Museum, primarily responsible for the world class fossil Echinoderm collections (starfish and their relatives). My role ensures the collections are cared for, made readily accessible for study, exhibition and outreach and, that new important finds are ethically acquired. My research primarily focuses on past echinoderm diversity and palaeoecology and I have published over 28 papers in internationally recognised science journals and presented my science at numerous international conferences. I have also written chapters for and edited guidebooks on British fossils and produced a smartphone app to aid identification of UK fossils (the Fossil Explorer App). I have travelled widely, undertaking fieldwork in places from the deserts of Wyoming, USA and Morocco, to the grasslands of Russia and windswept coasts and quarries of England.
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The webinar will be hosted on Zoom and also broadcast on YouTube where it will be available to view for a period of time afterwards.