Oldest example of preserved tube feet reveals clues about the lives of 452-million-year-old sea lilies

Echinoderms, such as starfish, sea urchins and sea lilies, use small, flexible, tubular projections called "tube feet" for locomotion, feeding, respiration and sensory perception. Crinoids, a subgroup of echinoderms, are known to have a long fossil record, but these fossils usually preserve only hard skeletal parts, since soft tissues like tube feet are far more difficult to preserve. But researchers recently made a surprising and rare discovery of preserved crinoid tube feet. Their new study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, reports that these tube feet are the oldest known specimens, preserved for around 452 million years.