Notes on Additional Material Associated with the Type Specimens of Diphuicrinus ohioensis (Echinodermata: Crinoidea) from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Southeastern Ohio

Abstract

The cladid crinoid Diphuicrinus ohioensis Burke, 1976, was originally described from shallow marine facies of the Middle Pennsylvanian Putnam Hill Limestone of southeastern Ohio. One of the type localities for this taxon is an abandoned quarry in Vinton County, where a small number of articulated cups used in erection of this species was collected.  Prior to formal description of this species, multiple isolated calyx ossicles were collected from this locality, but were not analyzed in detail or included in the description of D. ohioensis. The previously unidentified material, described herein, contributes to a more complete record of this taxon.  Further, heavily sculptured (nodose) basal and radial plates are nearly ubiquitously encrusted by calcareous tubes, a paleoecological detail not otherwise noted in the description of D. ohioensis or the lithofacies from which material was collected. Encrusters, which consist of at least 2 varieties, are present primarily in depressed areas in between raised nodes.  This may reflect post-mortem removal via abrading currents but may alternatively represent preferential encrustation of portions of hard bioclasts characterized by larger, smoother, protected surfaces. This study reinforces the value of isolated crinoid ossicles in paleoecology, paleobiology, and paleoenvironmental analysis.