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Description: | Specimen of a fossil echinoid (sea urchin), Echinus sp., collected from the Coralline Crag or Red Crag of Tertiary, Pliocene (or Pleistocene ?) age from Suffolk (SE England).
In life, the test (skeleton) of this fossil sea urchin was covered with spines. The spines helped the sea urchin move and provided protection from predators. The hole in the base of the test contained a toothed feeding apparatus that surrounded the mouth. It fed on living and dead animals that it found on the sea floor. Echinus has survived to the present day and is found in coastal waters around the British Isles.
The specimen was found in Suffolk.
It is from the Tertiary period (65 - 1.8 million years ago) | Publisher: | Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums | Subjects: | Classification: Animalia Echinodermata Invertebrata Echinoidea | Temporal: | Tertiary period (65 - 1.8 million years ago) | Source: | Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums | Identifier: | http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/geofinder/se... | Go to resource |
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