Introduction to the Echinodermata

The Echinodermata is a phylum of exclusively marine invertebrates with a fossil record extending back to the Precambrian. The echinoderm clade is supported by a number of unique features, including

• a water vascular system
• a system of endoskeletal elements (arising from mesoderm) composed of a calcareous meshwork called stereom
• basic 5-part symmetry (often modified later in ontogeny) expressed in the development of 5 primary lobes in the hydrocoel of the rudiment
• construction of ambulacra by the addition of new plates adjacent to the terminal (or ocular) plate that marks the ends of the radial canals
• a diffuse sub-epithelial nervous system

Other Echinoderm Resources

Summary and Taxonomy of the Echinodermata
Links to other Echinoderm web resources and Echinoderm research links

Echinoderm Research at the California Academy of Sciences

Dr. Rich Mooi
Researches the phylogenetic systematics of the Echinodermata, but particularly in echinoids.

Cataloged Echinoderm Holdings at the California Academy of Sciences

Link to IZ Type Catalog (Gopher)

The Echinoderm Collection

The CAS Invertebrate Zoology and Geology Research Collection focuses on material collected primarily from the East and Indo-Pacific. Holdings are strongest in asteroids, ophiuroids and echinoids from the Northwest Pacific, especially the California coast. Shallow water and deep-sea recent material is represented and there is also a substantial number of fossil echinoderm specimens.

Special holdings within the collection include

1. Voucher and type collection of echinoderms from Stanford University (worked upon and collected by Ed Ricketts, Walter K. Fisher and H.L. Clark) collected by the USFC Steamer Albatross in the late 19th century and early 20th century
2. Shallow water Indo-Pacific echinoderms collected by Antonio J. Ferreira
3. East-Asian dredge material collected by Franz B. Steiner
4. Recently acquired oceanographic dredge collections of brisingid asteroids from Oregon State University.
5. The Malcolm Telford Collection from the University of Toronto, including one of the world's best collections of clypeasteroids.
6. Material collected by CAS staff since 1906.

There is a substantial amount of unallocated ophiuroid, crinoid and holothuroid material from mostly tropical Pacific localities. If you are a specialist who would like to work on our material or if you would like to make a donation of specimens to our collections please contact:

Curator- Dr. Rich Mooi

California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California