The identification of species present in an ecosystem and the assessment a faunistic inventory is first step any ecological survey conservation effort. Thanks to technological progress, DNA barcoding has sped up great support morphological taxonomy. In this work, we used “Reverse Taxonomy” approach, where molecular (DNA barcoding) analyses were followed by (skeletal features) ones determine spe...

An echinoderm fauna from the San Salvatore Formation (Middle Triassic, Southern Alps) is here described in detail for first time. Identifiable crinoids and echinoids were collected three different localities: Mt. (Ticino, Switzerland), Rasa di Varese Michele (Lombardy, Italy). Crinoid taxa include Encrinus cf. aculeatus, Holocrinus sp. indet., Zardinicrinus granulosus, Encrinidae gen. et indet....

Larvae of marine invertebrates either arise from small eggs and feed during their development or arise from large eggs that proceed to metamorphosis sustained only from maternal provisioning. Only a few species are known to possess facultatively feeding larvae. Of about 250 echinoid species with known mode of development, only two, Brisaster latifrons and Clypeaster rosaceus, are known to devel...

Sediments and fossil content of Gediz Delta (Eastern Aegean Sea-İzmir) were examined from the samples collected three drilling cores west (seaward) to east (landward) delta. Each core contains Quarternary marine deposits with a fauna foraminifers, bivalves, gastropods, echinoids, ostracods at bottom Quaternary continental delta top. According our Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) age model sediment...

A well-supported phylogeny of echinoderm classes has eluded morphological, embryological, molecular, and combined analyses. From this body of work it is apparent that (i) echinoids (sea urchins) and holothuroids (sea cucumbers) are related, and (ii) crinoids (sea lilies) are the sister taxon to extant eleutherozoan classes (asteroids, ophiuroids, echinoids, and holothuroids). However, the relat...

Despite widespread interest in the interplay between evolutionary and developmental processes, we still know relatively little about the evolutionary history of larval development. Many clades exhibit multiple shifts from planktotrophic (feeding) to non-planktotrophic (non-feeding) larval development. An important question is whether these switches are scattered randomly through geological hist...

Bioerosion is the destruction of hard substrates resulting from biological activity, and plays a relevant role in ecological interactions coastal dynamics processes. Several organisms have evolved structures behaviors allowing them to perforate biotic abiotic surfaces, transforming surfaces into particles, contributing significantly sediment production marine environment. Due large geographical...