The Spatangidae are a family of
heart urchin
The heart urchins or Spatangoida are an order of sea urchins.
Their body is a somewhat elongated oval in form, and is distinguished by the mouth being placed towards one end of the animal, and the anus towards the other. As a result, heart urchi ...
s. There are three recognised genera within the family; ''
Granopatagus'', ''
Plethotaenia'', and ''
Spatangus
''Spatangus'' is a genus of heart urchins in the Spatangidae family.Hansson, H. (2009)Spatangus Gray, 1825 Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species on 2 August 2010 The genus is synonymous with the previously recognised genera ''Pros ...
''.
Additionally, ''Prospatangus'' was previously a recognised genus within the Spatangidae, but is now accepted as part of the genus ''Spatangus''.
The Spatangidae are marine heart urchins that
feed on subsurface deposits and
graze.
References
Echinoderm families
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