- Ophiocistioidea
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Ophiocistioidea
Temporal range: Ordovician–DevonianScientific classification Domain: Eukarya Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Echinodermata Subphylum: Echinozoa Class: Ophiocistiodea The Ophiocistioidea is a class of extinct echinoderms from the Palaeozoic.
Ophiocistioids had a flattened dome-shaped body encased in a solid test of calcareous plates, similar to that of a modern sea urchin. The mouth was located at the apex of the dome, and surrounded by a set of five jaws. The animals apparently did not possess an anus, but a madreporite was present on the upper surface, surrounded by what appear to be genital pores for the release of gametes.
Five ambulacra radiated outwards from the mouth across the upper surface, but did not extend onto the flat underside. Each possessed three unusually large tube feet at the margin of the dome. Unlike normal tube feet, these were covered in small bony scales, and therefore remain visible in fossils.
References
- Barnes, Robert D. (1982). Invertebrate Zoology. Philadelphia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. p. 1011. ISBN 0-03-056747-5.
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