A major goal of biological classification is to provide a system that conveys phylogenetic relationships while facilitating lucid communication among researchers. Phylogenetic taxonomy is a useful framework for defining clades and delineating their taxonomic content based on well-supported phylogenetic hypotheses. The Crinoidea (Echinodermata) is one of the five major clades of living echinoderms and has a rich fossil record spanning nearly a half billion years. Using principles of phylogenetic taxonomy and recent phylogenetic analyses, we provide the first phylogeny-based definition for the Clade Crinoidea and its constituent subclades. A series of stem- and node-based definitions are provided for all major taxa traditionally recognized within the Crinoidea, including the Camerata, Disparida, Hybocrinida, Cladida, Flexibilia, and the Articulata. Following recommendations proposed in recent revisions, we recognize several new clades, including the Eucamerata Cole (this issue), Porocrinoidea Wright (this issue), and Eucladida Wright (this issue). In addition, recent phylogenetic analyses support the resurrection of two names previously abandoned in the crinoid taxonomic literature: the Pentacrinoidea Jaekel, 1918 and Inadunata Wachsmuth and Springer, 1885. Lastly, a phylogenetic perspective is used to inform a comprehensive revision of the traditional rank-based classification. Although an attempt was made to minimize changes to the rank-based system, numerous changes were necessary in some cases to achieve monophyly. These phylogeny-based classifications provide a useful template for paleontologists, biologists, and non-experts alike to better explore evolutionary patterns and processes with fossil and living crinoids.

The subclass Camerata (Crinoidea, Echinodermata) is a major group of Paleozoic crinoids that represents an early divergence in the evolutionary history and morphologic diversification of class Crinoidea, yet phylogenetic relationships among early camerates remain unresolved. This study conducted a series of quantitative phylogenetic analyses using parsimony methods to infer relationships of all well-preserved Ordovician camerate genera (52 taxa), establish the branching sequence of early camerates, and test the monophyly of traditionally recognized higher taxa, including orders Monobathrida and Diplobathrida. The first phylogenetic analysis identified a suitable outroup for rooting the Ordovician camerate tree and assessed affinities of the atypical dicyclic family Reteocrinidae. The second analysis inferred the phylogeny of all well-preserved Ordovician camerate genera. Inferred phylogenies confirm: (1) the Tremadocian genera Cnemecrinus and Eknomocrinus are sister to the Camerata; (2) as historically defined, orders Monobathrida and Diplobathrida do not represent monophyletic groups; (3) with minimal revision, Monobathrida and Diplobathrida can be re-diagnosed to represent monophyletic clades; (4) family Reteocrinidae is more closely related to camerates than to other crinoid groups currently recognized at the subclass level; and (5) several genera in subclass Camerata represent stem taxa that cannot be classified as either true monobathrids or true diplobathrids. The clade containing Monobathrida and Diplobathrida, as recognized herein, is termed Eucamerata to distinguish its constituent taxa from more basally positioned taxa, termed stem eucamerates. The results of this study provide a phylogenetic framework for revising camerate classification, elucidating patterns of morphologic evolution, and informing outgroup selection for future phylogenetic analyses of post-Ordovician camerates.

Upper Ordovician (Katian) strata of the Lake Simcoe region of Ontario record a spectacularly diverse and abundant echinoderm fauna known as the Brechin Lagerstätte. Despite recognition as the most taxonomically diverse Katian crinoid paleocommunity, the Brechin Lagerstätte has received relatively little taxonomic study since Frank Springer published his classic monograph on the "Kirkfield fauna" in 1911. Using a new collection of exceptionally preserved material, we evaluate all dicyclic inadunate crinoids occurring in the Brechin Lagerstätte, which is predominantly comprised of cladids (Eucladida and Flexibilia). We document 15 species across 11 genera, including descriptions of two new genera and four new species. New taxa include Konieckicrinus bre-chinensis n. gen. n. sp., K. josephi n. gen. n. sp., Simcoecrinus mahalaki n. gen. n. sp., and Dendrocrinus simcoensis n. sp. Although cladids are not commonly considered major components of the Early Paleozoic Crinoid Macroevolutionary Fauna, which is traditionally conceived as dominated by disparids and diplobathrid camerates, they are the most diverse major lineage of crinoids occurring in the Brechin Lagerstätte. This unexpected result highlights the important roles of specimen-based taxonomy and systematic revisions in the study of large-scale diversity patterns. UUID: http://zoobank.org/09dda7c2-f2c5-4411-93be-3587ab1652ab

The Upper Ordovician (lower Katian) Bobcaygeon and Verulam formations from the Lake Simcoe region of Ontario contain a highly diverse echinoderm assemblage that is herein recognized as a Konservat-Lagerstätte. Although fossil crinoids have long been recognized from these formations, the fauna has not received a comprehensive taxonomic evaluation since Springer's classic 1911 monograph. Recent extensive collection and preparation of new material from the Bobcaygeon and Verulam formations near Brechin, Ontario recovered numerous exceptionally preserved crinoid specimens with arms, stems, and attachment structures intact. The Brechin Lagerstätte is the most taxonomically diverse Katian crinoid fauna, with more than 20 crinoid genera represented in this collection. Here, all dicyclic crinoids belonging to subclass Camerata from the Brechin Lagerstätte are evaluated. The following four genera and seven species are described from the fauna, including one new genus and four new species: Reteocrinus stellaris, Reteocrinus alveolatus, Archaeocrinus sundayae n. sp., Archaeocrinus maraensis n. sp., Priscillacrinus elegans n. gen. n. sp., Cleiocrinus regius, and Cleiocrinus lepidotus n. sp. The exceptional preservation of this collection provides an opportunity to describe more fully the morphologic and ontogenetic details of known Ordovician crinoid taxa, to conduct a taxonomic re-evaluation of many species, to describe new taxa, and to provide a framework for subsequent studies of crinoid community paleoecology.

... Neither of Peach and Horne's localities has yielded well-preserved echinoderms in the recent past, although historically they have produced most ... Fiona E. Fearnhead gratefully acknowledges the support provided by the EJ Garwood Fund of the Geological Society, London, in ...