Coelopleurus

Coelopleurus Temporal range: Eocene–Present PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Coelopleurus floridanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Echinodermata
Class:	Echinoidea
Subclass:	Euechinoidea
Order:	Arbacioida
Family:	Arbaciidae
Genus:	Coelopleurus

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

Test of a Coelopleurus exquisitus

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 fossilisation.^[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 A. Agassiz, 1872
• Coelopleurus granulatus Mortensen, 1934
• Coelopleurus interruptus Döderlein, 1910
• Coelopleurus longicollis A. Agassiz & H.L. Clark, 1908
• Coelopleurus maculatus A. 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]

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).
• "Coelopleurus". Echinoid Directory. 

External links

• Coelopleurus in the Paleobiology Database
• Coelopleurus at fossilworks.org