The British Devonian Crinoidea Part 1, Introduction and Camerata

Abstract

ABSTRACT This is the first monographic study of the Devonian Crinoidea of the British Isles for over 100 years; most museum specimens were collected in the 19th Century. In this Part 1, we describe the Subclass Camerata, including the orders Diplobathrida (five genera, six species) and Monobathrida (nine genera, 27 species), including those taxa in open nomenclature. The generic and, particularly, specific diversities of the diplobathrids of the type area of the Devonian are low compared with the Silurian and Mississippian of the British Isles; specimens are few, poorly preserved and difficult to identify. Monobathrids are more numerous, better preserved and occur in a wider variety, particularly the Middle Devonian Hexacrinites spp. of the Torquay Limestone Formation, south Devon. New taxa described herein are left in open nomenclature, particularly Hexacrinites sp. C (based on a pluricolumnal), camerate spp. A-D (imperfect theca and crowns), and distal spiral and planar coiled attachments. Platycrinus? anguliferus (Whidborne) is reassigned to the hexacrinitid genus Oehlerticrinus Le Menn.