Raw data to Cretaceous opalised crinoids from Australia

This dataset documents a rare articulated fossil of a stalkless comatulid crinoid from the Southern Hemisphere, preserved as an opalized specimen from Australia. The material includes raw photographs and computed tomography (CT) scans of a specimen comprising a centrodorsal, articulated arms, and pinnules, assigned to Solanocrinitidae gen. et sp. indet. Finds of stalkless comatulids in the Southern Hemisphere are extremely rare and are typically limited to isolated centrodorsals. Complete or nearly complete specimens preserving articulated arms, cirri, and pinnules are known from only a few localities worldwide. The morphology of the centrodorsal, including its shape, radial arrangement, and radial cavity structure, suggests affinities with Solanocrinites or Archaeometra rather than Comatulina, Pachyantedon, or Palaeocomaster. However, attribution to Decameros cannot be excluded due to similarities in the relatively low, discoidal centrodorsal. The preserved arms exhibit variability in branching patterns, interpreted as evidence of regeneration following autotomy. This specimen represents the second known articulated comatulid (excluding uintacrinids) from the Cretaceous of the Southern Hemisphere preserving both centrodorsal and arms with pinnules, and the first such occurrence reported from Australia. This is also the first documented case of an opalized comatulid crinoid worldwide; previously, the only known opalized crinoid was the stalked isocrinid Isocrinus australis. Additionally, thin-section data included in this dataset reveal transverse sections of pelagic roveacrinids (saccocomids), representing their first record from the Australian continent. The dataset provides high-resolution visual and tomographic data supporting morphological interpretation and taxonomic assessment of this exceptional fossil.