Crinoid Fossil Specimen on Slab - Scyphocrinites Elegans - Silurian (443.8 – 419.2 million years ago) - Height: 310 mm - Width: 190 mm- 2444 g - (1)

Scyphocrinites Elegans - Silurian (443.8 – 419.2 million years ago) — An extraordinary specimen of a crinoid, in perfect preservation, of the species Scyphocrinites Elegans from the Silurian age, originating from Boutschrafin, Erfoud, Morocco. Like almost all crinoids from this locality, the rock has been repaired with some fillings for voids, because these crinoids are extracted from the ground in many pieces and the plates must be reassembled. The Scyphocrinites crinoids are extracted around Erfoud, Morocco, by digging straight down 16 feet until reaching the layer where they are found. Once the crinoid is located, a long tunnel along it is dug by hand. The rock, earth, and crinoid plates must then be transported to the surface in baskets, where they are reassembled and prepared. It is a very laborious process to bring to market a beautiful plate of crinoids like this.