Silurian crinoids of the New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, Canada

Abstract

The New Brunswick Museum’s collection of Silurian crinoids from eastern Canada is small, and includes specimens from New Brunswick, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Material considered herein is, with one exception, from New Brunswick. Included are: the cladid Syndetocrinus dartae (Upper Silurian of Quebec); the camerates Scyphocrinites sp. (Pridoli or Lochkovian) and camerate crinoid arms gen. et sp. indet. (Lower Silurian); columnal morphotaxa Floricrinus (col.) sp. (Ludlow or Pridoli) and Lanxocolumnus (col.) sp. cf. L. chaleurensis Donovan and Keighley (probably Llandovery, Telychian); distal dendritic radicular attachments (Ludlow or Pridoli); and disarticulated brachials (Ludlow or Pridoli). ἀe fossil record of crinoids from the Silurian of New Brunswick appears depauperate, but this most likely reḀects the poor preservation of the specimens (commonly disarticulated and moldic) and the lack of interest shown by collectors. ἀe only remedy for this problem would be either discovery of a crinoid Lagerstatte, which would be attractive to collectors, or a focused campaign of collecting of disarticulated material from multiple outcrops.