Crinoids from the Wooster Shale Member of the Cuyahoga Formation, Carboniferous (Mississippian, Tournaisian) of northeastern Ohio

Abstract. Nine crinoids are described from the Wooster Shale Member of the Cuyahoga Formation from Wayne and Ashland counties, Ohio, USA. Identifiable elements of the fauna include five camerate crinoids, one flexible crinoid, and three other eucladid crinoids. Five new species are described, including Cactocrinus woosterensis n. sp., Cusacrinus brushi n. sp., Agaricocrinus murphyi n. sp., Decadocrinus laevis n. sp., and Decadocrinus inordinatus n. sp. Overall, the distribution of crinoid clades in the Wooster Shale is similar to that of the stratigraphically lower Meadville Shale Member of the Cuyahoga Formation, although less diverse and with only one species (Cyathocrinites simplex) in common. Many of the Wooster Shale Member crinoids are completely or partially preserved with siderite either in nodules or within siderite beds. These crinoids are commonly preserved in trauma postures, which is characteristic of burial in episodic high turbulence events. The paleoenvironments and taxa of the two Cuyahoga Formation crinoid faunas more closely resemble Viséan faunas in siliciclastic settings than typical carbonate faunas of the Tournaisian.