Article: Saccocoma: a benthic crinoid from the Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone, Germany

Saccocoma is the most numerous macrofossil in the Solnhofen Limestone but its study has been relatively neglected. Functional interpretations of the morphology and mode of life have been based on Jaekel's definitive paper (1892) in which the lifestyle of Saccocoma was considered to be pelagic. However, new morphological interpretations suggest that Saccocoma may have been benthic. This conflicts with the conventional interpretation of the Solnhofen environments which proposes that adverse conditions precluded colonization by benthos.