The sea lilies are an animal group within the echinoderms (echinodermata), until the 2nd half of the 19th century this animal group was considered extinct. At that time, only the fossil specimens from different rock layers were known. In 1864, however, a live specimen was fished from the Vestfjord in Norway for the first time. So they are invertebrates and certainly not plants, although they may look a bit like them far away. Sea lilies belong to the echinodermata, which is the same group that also includes starfish, hair stars and sea urchins. The body of sea lilies consists of a stem and 5 pairs of arms with smaller “arms” on those arms. These arms are arranged around the mouth in the part connecting the stem and the arms. The arms catch food particles and bring them to the mouth. There are also free-swimming sea lilies and these have no stem. Today, about 625 living species are known, mainly from the tropical seas.