Shared patterns in body size declines among crinoids during the Palaeozoic extinction events

Abstract

Crinoids were among the most abundant marine benthic animals throughout the Palaeozoic, but their body size evolution has received little attention. Here, we compiled a comprehensive database on crinoid calyx biovolumes throughout the Palaeozoic. A model comparison approach revealed contrasting and complex patterns in body size dynamics between the two major crinoid clades (Camerata and Pentacrinoidea). Interestingly, two major drops in mean body size at around two mass extinction events (during the late Ordovician and the late Devonian respectively) are observed, which is reminiscent of current patterns of shrinking body size of a wide range of organisms as a result of climate change. The context of some trends (marked declines during extinctions) suggests the cardinal role of abiotic factors (dramatic climate change associated with extinctions) on crinoid body size evolution; however, other patterns (two intervals with either relative stability or steady size increase in periods between mass extinctions) are more consistent with biotic drivers.