The arms above the cup branch evenly and repeatedly. The arms have no pinnules. 

The anal series is arm-like and branches off at the cup. 

Stems are very long and have a distinctive shape, see drawings. The majority of the stem is made of round columnals with rounded edges. The articulating surface of the columnals has a five lobed design. The stem becomes smaller and pentagonal near the cup. 

The holdfast type is Lichenocrinus. 

This species is found in the Kope and Fairview. 

Click here to see 3-D views of this specimen!

Another Cincinnaticrinus pentagonus photo

Stems are round in cross section and very smooth. The columnals are thinner. The stem appears to taper and become thinner near the cup. Stem diameter can exceed 5 mm. Merocrinus uses a coiled stem type of holdfast.

The cup is made of smooth plates. The arms are long and branch only once just above the cup. The arms bear rammules which look much like pinnules except the rammules are larger. When found as complete crowns, the arms are generally folded inward hiding the ramules. 

The stem is round and quite long (see drawing). The stem immediately below the cup tapers rapidly and is made of very thin columnals. 

The stem is pentagonal to star shaped with prominent articulating ridges (see drawing). This is another type of crinoid using a coiled stem as a holdfast.

Courtesy of Jack Kallmeyer

The arms are narrower than the cup plates where they attach. 

The anal sac is large and ornamented with star shaped ridges which makes this species identifiable from fragments of this alone. 

The stem is star shaped with very faint articulating ridges. It tapers rapidly below the cup. This species uses radicular cirri as a holdfast (see drawing). 

Recent finds in the Kope may extend the range of this species to that formation as well. 

I have not yet determined the stem, anal sac, or holdfast type.
 

The stem is round with large diameter columnals alternating with small diameter ones (see drawing). 

P. dyeri is found in the Maysvillian and into the lower Richmondian. 

This species is restricted to the Fairmount.

The stem is most distinctive being pentagonal with extremely sharp corners (see drawing). The individual columnals are fairly thin, becoming very thin beneath the cup.

This appears to be a Liberty form.
 

The cup has very prominent ray ridges that branch once on the calyx and at least one more time above it.  The anal ridge is seen as a raised ridge along the side of the calyx.  Gaurocrinus is a diplobathrid camerate crinoid meaning that the cup is composed of three levels of plates.  The calyx plates between the raised ridges are small and irregular in size and shape.

The stems are pentagonal in shape and vary in diameter depending upon position.  See stem descriptions for details.

Gaurocrinus used a wrapped stem type of holdfast.

Rhaphanocrinus was originally mis-classified as a Glyptocrinus (a monobathrid camerate) because it seemed to have only two levels of plates composing the cup.  It was later re-described when the third level of plates (lowest) was found to be present but hidden by the level above them.  When you see this crinoid you will see how easy it is to make that error.  The basal plates (the middle level) project out over the stem with spectacular ridges and hide the lower infrabasals.

The most obvious features are the very high narrow ray ridges that begin at the basal plates.  These ridges stand out vertically away from the calyx as if they were knife blades.  The plates between the ray ridges also have smaller ridges.  The adult crowns do not have an anal ridge on the side of the calyx.  The tegman (covering of the top of the calyx within the arm circle) is composed of many tiny plates.  The heavy ornamentation on the calyx is missing from the smallest individuals so that there is a gradation of ornamentation from the smallest to the largest individuals.

The arms of Rhaphanocrinus are round and carry pinnules.

The stem is pentalobate with the diameter varying with position along the stem.  Columnals nearest to the cup are more circular as are the smallest diameter columnals.

Rhaphanocrinus used a coiled stem type of holdfast.

Courtesy of Jack Kallmeyer

The most unique feature of this species is the "square" stem shap (see drawing). Echinoderms usually have a five-fold symmetry which is why this one is so unusual.

X. baeri is found in the Liberty and Whitewater of the Richmondian. The genus is also found in Europe.

The arms are wide and branch numerous times above the cup. It is non-pinnulate. 

The stem is smooth, round and tapers gradually away from the cup. I believe the stems to be very short - since Cuplulocrinids from other areas have stems less than 100 mm long. 

C. polydactylus can be found from the Waynesville through the Whitewater of the Richmondian. 

The cup is almost spherical and smooth. The robust arms are narrower at their base than the cup plates that they attach to. 

The holdfast is a distinctive encrusting type of large size which can display "root-like" extensions. 

This crinoid had previously been thought to inhabit high energy environments and was typically found in the Bellevue of the Maysvillian. More recent discoveries are yielding specimens down into the Kope.