Pedinoida
| Pedinoida Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Diademopsis crinifera fossils | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Echinoidea |
| Subclass: | Euechinoidea |
| Infraclass: | Acroechinoidea |
| Order: | Pedinoida Mortensen, 1939 |
Pedinoida is an order of sea urchins, containing the family Pedinidae with a single living genus, Caenopedina. The group was much more diverse during the Mesozoic, and represents the oldest surviving order of euechinoid sea urchins.
They are distinguished from other sea urchins by the presence of a rigid test with tessellated plates. While their primary spines are solid, the smaller ones may be hollow, further distinguishing them from the closely related orders Diadematoida and Echinothurioida, which possess only hollow spines.
References
- Barnes, Robert D. (1982). Invertebrate Zoology. Philadelphia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. p. 980. ISBN 0-03-056747-5.
- National History Museum. "Pedinoida". Retrieved 20 Dec 2009.