Cassiduloida Temporal range: | |
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Order: | Cassiduloida L. Agassiz & Desor, 1847 |
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Cassiduloida is an order of sea urchins. The group was extremely diverse with many families and species during the Mesozoic, but today, only seven extant species remain. [1]
A 2019 phylogenetic systematics study by Souto et al. presented a revised classification of the cassiduloids, and hypothesised that the order probably originated in the Early Cretaceous. [1]
Cassiduloids have a rounded or slightly oval appearance, and look somewhat similar to heart urchins, although they are actually more closely related to the sand dollars. They are distinguished from other sea urchins by the presence of smaller intervening areas between the main ambulacral areas on the oral surface. They have no lantern as adults, and the petaloids are poorly developed or absent.
Sand dollars are species of flat, burrowing sea urchins belonging to the order Clypeasteroida. Some species within the order, not quite as flat, are known as sea biscuits. Sand dollars can also be called "sand cakes" or "cake urchins".
Diadema is a genus of sea urchins of the family Diadematidae.
The Atelostomata are a type of sea urchins. They are distinguished from other sea urchins by their irregular shape and the absence of a feeding lantern. The group includes the well known heart urchins, as well as some less familiar and extinct forms.
Anochanus sinensis is a species of sea urchin of the family Cassiduloida. They have sexual reproduction. Their armour is covered with spines. It is placed in the genus Anochanus and lives in the sea. Anochanus sinensis was first scientifically described in 1868 by Adolph Grube.
Holasteroida is an order of irregular sea urchins.
Tripneustes is a genus of sea urchins belonging to the family Toxopneustidae.
Araeosoma coriaceum is a species of sea urchin of the family Echinothuriidae. Its armour is covered with spines. It is placed in the genus Araeosoma and lives in the sea. A. coriaceum was first scientifically described in 1879 by Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, an American scientist.
Toxopneustes is a genus of sea urchins from the tropical Indo-Pacific. It contains four species. They are known to possess medically significant venom to humans on their pedicellariae. They are sometimes collectively known as flower urchins, after the most widespread and most commonly encountered species in the genus, the flower urchin.
Scutellidae is a family of sand dollars in the superfamily Scutellidea. All genera except Scaphechinus are extinct.
Irregularia is an extant infraclass of sea urchins that first appeared in the Lower Jurassic.
The Neognathostomata are a superorder of sea urchins.
Toxopneustes roseus is a species of sea urchin from the East Pacific. It is sometimes known as the rose flower urchin or the pink flower urchin. Like the related flower urchin, they are venomous.
Toxopneustes maculatus is a rare species of sea urchin found in the Indo-West Pacific.
Aeropsis is a genus of sea urchins in the family Aeropsidae.
Araeosoma is a genus of deep-sea sea urchins in the family Echinothuriidae.
Tetragramma is a genus of fossil sea urchins known from the Upper Jurassic (Oxfordian) to the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian).
Dermechinus is a genus of sea urchin in the family Echinidae found in deep water in the southern Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. It is monotypic, with Dermechinus horridus, sometimes called the cactus urchin, being the only species.
Pseudocentrotus depressus, commonly known as the pink sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin, one of only two species in the genus Pseudocentrotus. It was first described in 1864 by the American marine zoologist Alexander Agassiz as Toxocidaris depressus, having been collected during the North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition undertaken by Captain Cadwalader Ringgold and later Captain John Rodgers.
Schizasteridae is a family of echinoderms belonging to the order Spatangoida.
Mespilia globulus, the globular sea urchin, sphere sea urchin, or tuxedo urchin, is a sea urchin occurring in tropical shallow reef habitats. The specific name refers to a small ball or spherule, describing its overall shape/morphology. It is the only species in the genus Mespilia.