Camerata (crinoid)

The Camerata or camerate crinoids are an extinct group of Paleozoic stalked crinoids. They were some of the earliest crinoids to appear, living during the Early Ordovician. These ancient sea creatures reached their peak variety during the Mississippian and eventually disappeared during the great Permian–Triassic extinction event.

Camerates are closely related to a group called Pentacrinoidea, which includes all other crinoids, both ancient and living. The two biggest groups of camerate crinoids are called the orders Diplobathrida and Monobathrida.

What made camerate crinoids special was their body structure. Their cup-shaped body had special joints between the plates, and their arms were built into this cup. They also had a hard roof over their mouth, and most had ten or more free arms that could branch out.

Subdivisions

The Camerata crinoids had different groups within them. Some of these groups include Cladida, which may have included species like Adelphicrinus, Eknomocrinus, Cnemecrinus, Quechuacrinus, and Reteocrinus. Another main group was Eucamerata, which included Rosfacrinus and two orders called Diplobathrida and Monobathrida.