''Ausichicrinites'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

feather stars Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or comatulids, which are ...

(comatulids) in the upper Jurassic period ( Tithonian epoch), central western

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

approximately 145 million years ago. This genus was found in the upper part of the Antalo Limestone Formation 2114 meters (6935 feet) in elevation. The genus name ''Ausichicrinites'' refers to William I. Aussich, a leading expert on the order comatulids, while the species name ''Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi'' was named in honor of the sixth president of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

, in support of him during the Russian invasion of Ukraine which was ongoing at the time of its description. ''A. zelenskyyi'' is also known to be the first Jurassic comatulid to come from the African continent and is the first nearly complete feather star

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

. The species showed a few similarities with Mesozoic Solanocrinitidae but also shows a close resemblace with the modern family group

Zygometridae ''Zygometridae'' is a family of echinoderms belonging to the order Comatulida Comatulida is an order of crinoids. Members of this order are known as feather stars and mostly do not have a stalk as adults. The oral surface with the mouth is fac ...

. Based on the near complete fossil of ''A. zelenskyyi'', the species was 2 inches in diameter and had ten foot long large arms and many ring-like appendages near the base to grip the substrate. The arms were used to filter feed food from the water by exposing its arms and letting the food move to it. ''Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi'' also may have been able to shed its arms similar to

lizards Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia althou ...

Reference

External links

* * {{Portal bar, Animals, Paleontology, Marine life Comatulida Fossil taxa described in 2022 Fossils of Ethiopia Invertebrates of Ethiopia Prehistoric echinoderms of Africa Late Jurassic animals of Africa Tithonian genera