Oligocene Feather Star Fossil Morphology from New Zealand

Dryad hosts data supporting the description of Rautangaroa, a new genus of feather star from the Oligocene of New Zealand. The dataset includes morphological analysis of a nearly complete fossil specimen, providing rare data on arm and cirri structures. It documents the first known example of arm autotomy and regeneration in a fossil feather star.

Use Cases

• Analyze morphological features of the Rautangaroa aotearoa specimen to compare with other Crinoidea genera.
• Study the documented arm autotomy and regeneration evidence to assess predation pressures in the Oligocene.
• Use the fossil's detailed morphology to inform phylogenetic models of feather star evolution.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a nearly complete fossil specimen, which is extremely rare for feather stars.
• Includes analysis of newly recovered material and relevant historical specimens for context.
• Published under a permissive CC0 1.0 license, allowing unrestricted reuse.

Limitations

• The dataset scope is limited to a single primary specimen and related fragments.
• Specific data formats, column structures, and sample sizes are not detailed in the provided metadata.
• Geographic coverage is restricted to North Otago/South Canterbury, New Zealand.

Provenance

Source

Tomasz K. Baumiller

Collection Method

Morphological analysis of fossil specimens from Oligocene strata.

Time Range

Oligocene epoch

Freshness

Last updated in June 2020.

Geography

North Otago/South Canterbury, New Zealand