Uncommon Baby Gogia Dawn Crinoid Fossil

This is an excellent example of the Cambrian Eocrinoid Gogia spiralis. Gogia was among the earliest groups of echinoderms, existing from the early to middle Cambrian. For this reason they are often called "dawn crinoids". Gogia and other eocrinoids were not closely related to the true crinoids, and were actually more closely related to the extinct blastoids that perished in the Permian-Triassic extinction event when some 96% of marine species perished. They had a vase-shaped body (calyx), covered by plates that were symmetrical and have a bifurcated brachiole, a slender arm-like structure for food-gathering that closely resembled those in cystoids. This is a rare baby example. Once Gogia matured past the four-armed stage (the species derives its name from the spiraled arms), they added arms in such a way as to have an odd-numbered total.