The first definitive echinoderms appeared near the start of the Cambrian. Echinoderms are important both ecologically and geologically. Ecologically, there are few other groupings so abundant in the …

Echinoderm, any of a variety of invertebrate marine animals belonging to the phylum Echinodermata, characterized by a hard, spiny covering or skin. Living species include sea lilies, sea urchins, sea …

Together, these animals make up the Echinodermata, a word with Greek origins meaning “hedgehog skin.” Echinoderms live in every ocean, even off the coast of Antarctica. Well known as coastal …

Jun 30, 2025 · Echinoderms are spiny-skinned invertebrates of the phylum Echinodermata, specifically recognized by the pentamerous body (five-pointed) symmetry in adults. The phylum derives its name …

Echinoderms include several familiar organisms such as starfish (or sea stars), sea urchins, sand dollars, sea cucumbers, and brittle stars. These animals are found in oceans worldwide, from shallow …

Whereas five major groups of echinoderms are living today (starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and sea lilies), more than 20 other, equally distinctive extinct echinoderms groups lived …

Aug 4, 2025 · Echinoderms are a group of marine invertebrates found across all the world’s oceans, from shallow coastal waters to the deepest abyssal plains. These organisms contribute significantly …

Echinoderms are named for the spines or bumps covering the outer surface of the bodies of many of them (Greek root word echino - meaning spiny; Latin root word - derm meaning skin). Examples of …

Sea stars (Figure 1), sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sand dollars, and brittle stars are all examples of echinoderms. To date, no freshwater or terrestrial echinoderms are known.

Echinoderms are efficient scavengers of decaying matter on the seafloor, and they prey upon a variety of small organisms, thereby helping to regulate their numbers.