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.
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
0
42
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
0
83
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
0
17
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
0
35
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
0
76
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
0
24
An international research team has developed an innovative model that explains how elongated amphibious animals—such as eels—coordinate movement both in water and on land. Their study is published in the Proceedings of the ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 5, 2025
0
32
Researchers at University of Tsukuba examined how twin organisms can emerge from a single fertilized egg by studying sea urchin embryos. Their findings revealed that when an early-stage embryo is split in half, each portion ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 5, 2025
0
30
Sea cucumbers (Apostichopus japonicus) have been slowly disappearing from ocean floors over the last few decades, mostly due to overfishing for food and medicinal purposes. Despite their name, sea cucumbers are aquatic animals ...
