''Coelopleurus'' is an extant
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
echinoid
Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
s with fossil records dating back to the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
, with remains found in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
and
North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pattern, usually red and white. Even more surprisingly, their tests (skeletons) are brightly colored, too, even after drying, or sometimes fossilization.
[.]
Species
According to
World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms.
Content
The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific speciali ...
:
* ''
Coelopleurus australis
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
H.L. Clark, 1916
* ''
Coelopleurus carolinensis
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
Cooke, 1941a †
* ''
Coelopleurus castroi
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
Maury, 1930 †
* ''
Coelopleurus exquisitus''
Coppard & Schultz, 2006
* ''
Coelopleurus floridanus
''Coelopleurus floridanus'' is a sea urchin species in the family Arbaciidae restricted to deep waters in the western Atlantic, from the West Indies up to Cape May, New Jersey. The species may feed on bryozoans, worm tubes, and clavulariid corals ...
''
Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history.
Spending his early life in Switzerland, he re ...
, 1872
* ''
Coelopleurus granulatus
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
Mortensen, 1934
* ''
Coelopleurus interruptus
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
Döderlein, 1910
* ''
Coelopleurus longicollis
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history.
Spending his early life in Switzerland, he re ...
& H.L. Clark, 1908
* ''
Coelopleurus maculatus
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history.
Spending his early life in Switzerland, he re ...
& H.L. Clark, 1907
* ''
Coelopleurus maillardi
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
(Michelin, 1862)
* ''
Coelopleurus melitensis
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
Zammit-Maempel, 1969 †
* ''
Coelopleurus singularis
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
Nisiyama, 1966
* ''
Coelopleurus undulatus
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
Mortensen, 1934a
* ''
Coelopleurus vittatus
''Coelopleurus'' is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pa ...
''
Koehler, 1927
Fossil species:
* †''Coelopleurus elegans'' (Bell), from the Pleistocene of the Jizo-do formation of Japan
''Coelopleurus elegans'' (Bell)
at museum.tohoku.ac.jp
References
Further reading
* Kroh, A. (2014).
Coelopleurus L. Agassiz, 1840a
' in Kroh, A. & Mooi, R. (2014) World Echinoidea Database (through World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms.
Content
The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific speciali ...
).
*
External links
''Coelopleurus''
in the Paleobiology Database
The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms.
History
The Paleobiology Database (PBDB) originated in the NCEAS-funded Phanerozoic Marine Paleo ...
*
Arbacioida
Extant Eocene first appearances
Paleogene echinoderms of Europe
Prehistoric echinoderms of North America
Echinoidea genera
{{echinoidea-stub