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Description: | Specimen of a fossil echinoid (sea urchin), Hemicidaris perornata, collected from the Chalk Formation of Late Cretaceous, Turonian - Campanian age.
The test (skeleton) fragments and loose spines show that this sea urchin was broken before it was preserved as a fossil. The test was hemispherical (shaped like half a ball) with the mouth on the flattened lower surface. Hemicidaris lived on the sea floor in an open sea environment where the salinity (salt content) of the sea water was normal. It was a scavenger that fed mainly on bivalve remains. The spines helped it move around and provided protection from predators.
It is from the Cretaceous period (144 - 65 million years ago) | Publisher: | Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums | Subjects: | Classification: Animalia Echinodermata Invertebrata Echinoidea | Temporal: | Cretaceous period (144 - 65 million years ago) | Source: | Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums | Identifier: | http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/geofinder/se... | Go to resource |
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Echinoid
The test (skeleton) fragments and…
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