New discoveries of Cambrian pelmatozoan echinoderm ossicles from North China

A variety of echinoderm ossicles have been discovered in the middle to upper Cambrian rocks of the North China Craton. Material was collected from two localities: Shuangqiao (SQ) section (Paibian) in Hebei Province and Linyi (LY) (Guzhangian?–Paibian?) in Shandong Province. Six types of ossicles can be recognized, including rounded thecal plates, and columnals with a narrow lumen and ridged articulating facets. The combination of characters suggests an unknown stalked echinoderm, probably an eocrinoid, with relatively advanced columnal morphology.