A sea lily, a species almost half a billion years old, was caught on video

The footage captures an unusual sea creature—a feathery sea lily, also known as a crinoid. Despite its resemblance to a plant, it is a fully-fledged marine animal, belonging to the phylum Echinodermata, which also includes starfish and sea urchins. Of particular interest is the crinoid's method of locomotion. Although they spend most of their time attached to underwater objects, when necessary, these creatures can swim, rhythmically moving their numerous "feathers." Scientists believe that sea lilies are among the oldest modern ocean inhabitants. Their ancestors appeared in the Ordovician period, approximately 480 million years ago—long before the emergence of dinosaurs, mammals, and even the first land plants. Due to their unusual appearance and ancient origins, crinoids are often called "living fossils," preserving the features of organisms that inhabited the Earth hundreds of millions of years ago.