It looks like something that drifted in from another planet.
But this bizarre, remarkably detailed fossil was once a living creature that moved across the seafloor of ancient Australia nearly 280 million years ago.
The fossil belongs to Jimbacrinus bostocki, a strange-looking crinoid discovered near Gascoyne Junction in Western Australia. Dating to the Permian Period, the specimen preserves an astonishing amount of detail, offering scientists a rare glimpse into a marine world that existed long before dinosaurs appeared.
Despite their otherworldly appearance, crinoids are not aliens — they are marine animals related to modern starfish, brittle stars and sea urchins. Their basic body design has remained remarkably consistent through geological time.
Jimbacrinus bostocki anchored itself to the ancient seafloor using a long, flexible stalk made of numerous porous discs connected by soft tissue. Its delicate structure allowed it to remain attached while feeding in the water above.
Some fossils can reach around 22 centimeters (8.7 inches) in length and are preserved with such extraordinary detail that they almost look like modern organisms frozen in stone.
But the timing of this creature’s existence makes the discovery even more fascinating.
The Permian world was eventually transformed by one of the most devastating catastrophes in Earth’s history — the Great Dying, when roughly 90% of marine species are thought to have disappeared.
This alien-looking fossil is therefore more than a beautifully preserved relic.
It is a tiny window into an ancient ocean that was thriving just before one of Earth’s greatest biological disasters.