Echinoderms: List of Beautiful Echinoderms with Facts

You might not be familiar with the term “echinoderms” yet. This term refers to a specific type of marine creatures and serves as an intriguing piece of information to explore when showcasing your knowledge of animal subcategories and their natural environments. Today, we will delve into what echinoderms are, where they typically reside, and uncover any fascinating facts associated with them.

Echinoderms: An Overview

The term “echinoderm” originates from the Greek words meaning “spiny skin.” They represent a significant category of marine organisms and are typically fixed on the seafloor due to their limited mobility. Examples of creatures classified as echinoderms include starfish, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins.

Physical Characteristics

Echinoderms exhibit a diverse array of colors, often featuring five arms or multiples of five, showcasing their characteristic radial symmetry. Most echinoderms possess a shell composed of calcium carbonate, providing complete coverage for their skin.

Natural Habitat

Echinoderms can be found across various oceanic depths, always situated on the seafloor. They are known to thrive in environments as small and simple as rock pools or the intertidal zone. Moreover, numerous echinoderm species inhabit the deep recesses of the ocean, including the abyssal zone. Some species may still remain undiscovered, residing within the depths of the ocean floor.

List of Echinoderms

Names of Echinoderms

• Blastoid
• Brittle Star
• Crinoid
• Cystoidea
• Eocrinoidea
• Sand Dollar
• Sea Cucumber
• Sea Urchin
• Starfish

Echinoderms: Facts

Blastoid

Blastoids, an extinct type of echinoderm, emerged around 540 million years ago and became extinct roughly 250 million years ago. Despite their lack of existence today, abundant fossil evidence attests to their ancient presence. Without appendages for movement, blastoids attached themselves to a stalk on the ocean floor to secure their position while feeding.

Brittle Star

Resembling starfish but possessing slimmer arms, brittle stars earned their name due to their tendency to shed limbs when handled, serving as a defense mechanism against potential predators.

Crinoid

While fossil remains of crinoids are more commonly found than living specimens, these creatures, with their feather-like appearance and five-fold symmetry, have endured for approximately 490 million years.

Sand Dollar

Recognizable as the white, shell-like organisms on the ocean floor, sand dollars, when alive, actually exhibit hues of purple or red, transitioning to a white color after death. They rely on submersion in water for survival.

Sea Cucumber

Despite their unassuming appearance, sea cucumbers, like other echinoderms, consume plankton and algae using tentacles surrounding their mouths. Valued as both delicacies and medicinal resources in some Asian countries, their benefits are yet to be fully explored in Western nations.

Sea Urchin

Known for their formidable defense mechanism of numerous spines, sea urchins primarily inhabit warmer ocean waters near coral reefs. While lacking a visible face, their distinctive mouths remain easily identifiable.

Starfish

The most recognizable echinoderms, starfish possess extraordinary regenerative abilities, capable of regenerating lost arms. This unique capability has attracted the attention of scientists exploring the potential applications of their cells in regenerative medicine. Additionally, starfish are known to begin digesting large food items outside their bodies.