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Micraster ✝
| Description | Micraster is an extinct genus of echinoids from the Late Cretaceous to the early Eocene. Its remains have been found in Africa, Antarctica, Europe, and North America. Micraster was an infaunal echinoid living in a burrow below the sediment surface. The test is clearly bilateral and there is a deep anterior groove to take in water containing organic particles to the mouth. The tube feet keep a supply of nutrient-laden water moving into the burrow. The anus has a waste tube behind it. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micraster, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | genus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Echinodermata : Echinoidea : Spatangoida : Micrasteridae : Micraster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Echinodermata : Echinoidea : Spatangoida : Micrasteridae : Micraster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Scientific Name | Micraster Agassiz, 1836 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name Published In | Mém. Soc. Sci. nat. Neuchâtel, 1: 184 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extinct | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 99.6 - 93.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Recorded Appearance | 59.2 - 56.0 Ma Paleocene | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | marine (based on Spatangoida) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | slow-moving (based on Spatangoida) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vision | limited (based on Echinoidea) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | deposit feeder, detritivore (based on Spatangoida) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reproduction | dispersal=water,planktonic (based on Spatangoida) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ontogeny | accretion,addition of parts (based on Echinodermata) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | high Mg calcite (based on Spatangoida) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | J. J. Sepkoski, Jr. 2002. A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. Bulletins of American Paleontology 363:1-560 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micraster |
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micraster (Gibbaster) ✝ subgenus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Micraster (Micraster) ✝ subgenus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Micraster (Plesiaster) ✝ subgenus | listed (PBDB) | 3 | 83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster acutus ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 99.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 99.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster aichensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster americanus ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 14 | 83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 70.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster amnicus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster beonensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster bibicensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster brevisulcatus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster brongniarti species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster burgiensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster cantaber species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster carinatus ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 89.3 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 89.3 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster coranguinum ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 2 | 85.8 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 85.8 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster coravium species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster corbovis ✝ species | listed (PBDB) | 5 | 99.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 93.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster cordatus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster coribericum species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster cortestudinarium ✝ species | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 89.3 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 89.3 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster cracoviensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster depressus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster desori species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster drevermanni species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster elevatus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster eysdenensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster fastigatus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster gappi species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster glyphus ✝ species | listed (PBDB) | 22 | 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster grossouvrei species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster heberti species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster heinzi species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster integer species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster laxoporus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster leskei ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 17 | 99.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 89.3 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster maleckii species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster marginalis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster matheroni species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster michelini species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster montensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster norfolkensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster numidicus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster piriformis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster praerogalae species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster pseudorostratus ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster regularis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster rogalae ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Micraster santanderensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster schlueteri species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster schroederi ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 6 | 83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster solignaci species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster sonorensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster subglobosus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster trangahyensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster uddeni ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 86.3 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 86.3 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Micraster vistulensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Micraster westlakei species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
Obsolete Names
| Name | Source | Taxon Rank | Taxonomy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gibbaster Gauthier, 1887 | GBIF | genus | Animalia : Echinodermata : Echinoidea : Spatangoida : Micrasteridae : Gibbaster |
| Paramicraster Mączyńska, 1968 | GBIF | genus | Animalia : Echinodermata : Echinoidea : Spatangoida : Micrasteridae : Paramicraster |
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1836 | Micraster Agassiz figs. 7-10 |
| 1964 | Micraster Djabarov p. 45 |
| 1966 | Micraster Fischer p. U581 |
| 2002 | Micraster Sepkoski, Jr. |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
Tithe Pit, Warlingham, Tandridge, Surrey, England, UK