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Echinoid
Title
Echinoid
Description
Taxonomy
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Echinoidea
Diagnostic features
Ambulacra (tube feet)
Periproct (opening for anus)
Peristome (opening for mouth)
Pentaradial symmetry (regular echinoids)
Bilateral symmetry imposed upon pentaradial symmetry (irregular echinoids)
Stratigraphic range
Ordovician to Present (Irregular Echinoids from Jurassic to Present)
Way of life
Regular echinoids:
Grazers with functional jaw apparatus
Long spines for protection and movement
Epifaunal at a wide range of depths
Use tube feet for respiration and movement
Irregular echinoids:
Feed on organic matter in sediment, front shaped to funnel sediment into mouth
Use fine spines to move
Infaunal burrowers
Use tube feet for respiration
Advanced notes
Grazing echinoids leave a distinctive pentagonal feeding trace Gnathicnus pentax.
Learn about types of preservation
Specimens
Collection
Citation
“Echinoid,” 1A Collections, accessed April 9, 2024, https://wserv3.esc.cam.ac.uk/p1acollections/items/show/118.