Sagenocrinites

Sagenocrinites
Temporal range: Silurian
Sagenocrinites expansus (Phillips), on display at the Natural History Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Subphylum: Crinozoa
Class: Crinoidea
Order: Sagenocrinida
Genus: Sagenocrinites

Sagenocrinites is an extinct genus of crinoid from the Silurian period. During the Silurian period, a sea-covered Britain that was shallower in the south and deeper in the north lay south of the equator with a tropical to sub-tropical climate. Therefore, in the United Kingdom, amongst Silurian fossils, such as brachiopods, trilobites and graptolites, coral-like organisms like sagenocrinites can be found.

Because this species belongs to a genre of crinoids which is very sensitive concerning the environmental influences their petrified remains can therefore be viewed as indicators of the climate conditions. By using a geological world map, these fossils will help to create a complex climate model, tracing back more than 400 million years to the ancient Earth. With a high accuracy it will be possible to reconstruct the climate history of our planet.

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