The Classic Carboniferous Crinoids of Richmond
The pretty North Yorkshire market town of Richmond has a rich history, most notably visible in the large Norman castle perched high above the River Swale. Carboniferous exposures in the River Swale beneath Richmond's Norman castle. I watched a relaxed kingfisher standing on the rocks here on 3rd August 2024. Richmond also has an important palaeontological history, being the site of a discovery in the 1850s of numerous beautifully preserved Carboniferous crinoid fossils. The most abundant of these, Woodocrinus macrodactylus , was described in 1854 (de Koninck in de Koninck & Le Hon). De Koninck's 1854 diagram of Woodocrinus macrodactylus . 'Parmi les nombreux fossiles carbonifères du Yorkshire dont je suis redevable à l’obligeance de M. Edward Wood, de Richmond, il s’est trouvé quelques échantillons d’un Crinoïde remarquable par sa taille et par la parfaite conservation de ses diverses parties.' Illustrations of Woodocrinus macrodactylus in de Koninck & Le Hon...