A rare comatulid crinoid, Semiometra petitclerci (CAILLET, 1923), from the Upper Oxfordian of Poland

Abstract

A small faunule of feather stars or comatulids (free-living crinoids of the order Comatulida A.H. CLARK, 1908) is recorded from Upper Oxfordian strata (Bielawy/Wapienno sequence) in the Couiavia region, north-western Central Poland. It represents a single, very small-sized species, Semiometra petitclerci (CAILLET, 1923), hitherto an extreme rarity in the Jurassic sequences of France and Germany. The present record extends the geographic distribution of the species in Europe, to evidence a wider range of the genus Semiometra GISLÉN, 1924, prior to its fairly common occurrence and higher diversity during the Late Cretaceous.