Coelopleurus Explained

Coelopleurus is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene,^[1] with remains found in Europe 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.^[2]

Species

According to World Register of Marine Species:^[3]

• Coelopleurus australis H.L. Clark, 1916
• Coelopleurus carolinensis Cooke, 1941a †
• Coelopleurus castroi Maury, 1930 †
• Coelopleurus exquisitus Coppard & Schultz, 2006
• Coelopleurus floridanus Agassiz, 1872
• Coelopleurus granulatus Mortensen, 1934
• Coelopleurus interruptus Döderlein, 1910
• Coelopleurus longicollis Agassiz & H.L. Clark, 1908
• Coelopleurus maculatus Agassiz & H.L. Clark, 1907
• Coelopleurus maillardi (Michelin, 1862)
• Coelopleurus melitensis Zammit-Maempel, 1969 †
• Coelopleurus singularis Nisiyama, 1966
• Coelopleurus undulatus Mortensen, 1934a
• Coelopleurus vittatus Koehler, 1927

Fossil species:

• †Coelopleurus elegans (Bell), from the Pleistocene of the Jizo-do formation of Japan^[4]

Further reading

• Kroh, A. (2014). Coelopleurus L. Agassiz, 1840a in Kroh, A. & Mooi, R. (2014) World Echinoidea Database (through World Register of Marine Species).
• Web site: Coelopleurus . . Echinoid Directory.

External links

• Coelopleurus in the Paleobiology Database

Notes and References

1. Fossils (Smithsonian Handbooks) by David Ward (p. 179)
2. Web site: Coelopleurus : The most gorgeous urchin you never heard of! . Mah . Christopher L. . The Echinoblog . .
3. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=123373 Coelopleurus
4. http://webdb2.museum.tohoku.ac.jp/data_base/IGPS/027331_.html Coelopleurus elegans (Bell)