In the present study, Kabir kuh Section, related to the Seymareh or Lopha Limestone member (Gurpi Formation) have been Selected. The member has yielded a rich echinoid fauna and 21 species of Echinoid belonging to 14 genera are recognized and described. The Kabir Kuh section yielded two regular echinoid taxa: Salenia nutrix and Goniopygus superbus, one holectypoid taxa: Coptodiscus noemiae, two...

Two new species of an Arbacioid echinoid, genus Goniopygus, are reported for the first time from Aptian sediments of Baghin area, Kerman, Iran. The main features of the species lie in apical disc and peristome diameter. In Goniopygus triangularis sp. nov., the periperoct is triangular in shape with three small, sunken tubercles, located alternatively adjacent to the periperoct, while Goniopygus...

The SALMFamides are a family of neuropeptides that act as muscle relaxants in echinoderms. Two types of SALMFamides have been identified: L-type (e.g. the starfish neuropeptides S1 and S2) with the C-terminal motif LxFamide (x is variable) and F-type with the C-terminal motif FxFamide. In the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (class Echinoidea) there are two SALMFamide genes, one encodin...

Photoreception in echinoderms has been studied for several years with a focus on the dermal photoreceptors of echinoids. Even though spatial vision has been proposed for this dermal photosystem, by far the most advanced system is found in a number of asteroids where an unpaired tube foot at the tip of each arm carries a proper eye, also known as the optical cushion. The eyes resemble compound e...

The cyrtocrinid crinoid Proholopus holopiformis (Remeš, 1902) is described from the upper Albian succession that may be included in Albeniz unit to east of Iruñea-Pamplona (Navarre, Western Pyrenees, Spain). Although based on partially disarticulated material, this taxon preserve calyx, stem, attachment structure, and brachial plates arms. was previously Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Czech Re...

The Eocene Peñicas (Almería) and Harania (Málaga) stratigraphic sections from the Malaguide Complex (Betic Cordillera, South Spain) belonging to Mesomediterranean Microplate westernmost Tethys (about-35°N 0° 5°E according coordinates) have been studied. cover Cuisian middle Lutetian deposits, which show several lithofacies representing shallow marine platform realms. Based on fossiliferous asse...

Studies on echinoderms along the Panamanian Pacific coast have focused mainly on evolutionary and molecular analyses, however little ecological research has been done and mainly only on 2 species: Diadema mexicanum and Acanthaster planci. Herein, we describe for the first time the diversity (based on Margalef, Shannon and Pielou indices), distribution and density of echinoderms for some islands...

Directional asymmetry (DA) in body form is a widespread phenomenon in animals and plants alike, and a functional understanding of such asymmetries can offer insights into the ways in which ecology and development interface to drive evolution. Echinoids (sea urchins, sand dollars and their kin) with planktotrophic development have a bilaterally symmetrical feeding pluteus larva that undergoes a ...