Echinoderms are a phylum of exclusively marine deuterostome invertebrates characterized by pentaradial symmetry in adults, a calcareous endoskeleton composed of ossicles, and a unique water vascular system that operates tube feet for locomotion, feeding, and gas exchange. Major classes include Asteroidea (sea stars), Echinoidea (sea urchins, sand dollars), Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers), Ophiuroidea (brittle stars), and Crinoidea (feather stars). They exhibit mutable collagenous tissues enabling rapid changes in body stiffness, and possess high regenerative capacity. Echinoderms are key model systems in developmental and evolutionary biology, particularly for studying deuterostome embryogenesis and larval–adult body plan transitions.
The growth form of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is composed of shoots known as stipes instead of branches. From one parent holding fast to the hard bottom might come as many as 150 stipes. Typically, the tips of the ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
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Nature does it again! The natural world has a knack for giving us the blueprints for some useful technologies, and the humble sea urchin is the latest contributor. Scientists have designed a new class of smart sensors by ...
A study by the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences and the University of Bonn has shown that pH value is crucial for sperm motility in sea urchins and salmon. An increase in pH activates the enzyme adenylyl ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 22, 2026
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Starfish, also known as sea stars, are equipped with an almost alien-like anatomy. Despite lacking a brain, blood, and central nervous system, these odd creatures still have locomotive abilities. The structure of their many ...
The conservation of genome regulatory elements over long periods of evolution is not limited to vertebrates, as previously thought, but also in echinoderms (invertebrates). This is one of the most notable conclusions of a ...
Evolution
Jan 8, 2026
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Sea urchins are ecosystem engineers, the marine equivalent of mega-herbivores on land. By grazing and shredding seaweed and seagrass, they control algal growth and promote the survival of slow-growing organisms like corals ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 11, 2025
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Researchers at University of Tsukuba have identified a brain-like cluster of neurons in sea urchin larvae, traditionally considered lacking a brain, that regulates light-responsive behavior. The work is published in the journal ...
Evolution
Dec 4, 2025
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Two pioneering studies by researchers from the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University, led by Dr. Omri Bronstein, have identified the primary drivers of sea urchin mass mortality ...
Ecology
Nov 17, 2025
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An international team of researchers, including scientists from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, has uncovered a surprisingly complex nervous system in sea urchins. The animals appear to possess an "all-body brain" whose ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 5, 2025
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The "baby boom" of ochre sea stars that followed a population crash a decade ago is enabling the species to recover on the Oregon Coast, according to new research by scientists at Oregon State University and Cal Poly San ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 28, 2025
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