The pourtalesiids (Pourtalesiidae) are a family of irregular sea urchins that live in the deep sea. They are secondarily bilateral-symmetrical and like other representatives of the taxon Holasteroida they lack the lantern of Aristotle, which is typical for many other sea urchins. The genus Pourtalesia was named after Louis-François de Pourtalès who first collected these animals while dredging at a depth of 600 m. The family is known already from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) and is distributed worldwide.
Species and genera
Currently, there are 10 genera with 28 extant and 5 extinct species described.
- genus Ceratophysa <small>Pomel, 1883</small>
- Ceratophysa ceratopyga <small>(A. Agassiz, 1879)</small>
- Ceratophysa rosea <small>(A. Agassiz, 1879)</small>
- genus Cystocrepis <small>Mortensen, 1907</small>
- Cystocrepis setigera <small>(A. Agassiz, 1898)</small>
- genus Echinocrepis<small> A. Agassiz, 1879</small>
- Echinocrepis cuneata <small>A. Agassiz, 1879 </small>
- Echinocrepis rostrata <small>Mironov, 1973 </small>
- genus Echinosigra <small>Mortensen, 1907</small>
- Echinosigra (Echinogutta) amphora <small>Mironov, 1974 </small>
- Echinosigra (Echinogutta) antarctica <small>Mironov, 1974 </small>
- Echinosigra (Echinogutta) fabrefacta <small>Mironov, 1974 </small>
- Echinosigra (Echinogutta) valvaedentata<small> Mironov, 1974 </small>
- Echinosigra (Echinosigra) mortensi <small>Mironov, 1974 </small>
- Echinosigra (Echinosigra) phiale <small>(Thomson, 1873) </small>
- Echinosigra (Echinosigra) porrecta <small> Mironov, 1974 </small>
- Echinosigra (Echinosigra) vityazi <small> Mironov, 1997 </small>
- genus Galeaster <small>Seunes, 1889 â </small>
- Galeaster carinatus <small>Ravn, 1927 â </small>
- Galeaster dagestanensis <small>Poslavskaya & Moskvin, 1960 â </small>
- Galeaster minor <small>Poslavskaya, in Moskvin & Poslavskaya, 1949 â </small>
- Galeaster muntshiensis <small>Tzaghareli, 1949 â </small>
- Galeaster sumbaricus <small>Poslavskaya, in Moskvin & Poslavskaya, 1949 â </small>
- genus Helgocystis <small>Mortensen, 1907</small>
- Helgocystis carinata <small>(A. Agassiz, 1879)</small>
- genus Pourtalesia<small> A. Agassiz, 1869</small>
- Pourtalesia alcocki <small>Koehler, 1914</small>
- Pourtalesia aurorae <small>Koehler, 1926</small>
- Pourtalesia debilis <small>Koehler, 1926</small>
- Pourtalesia heptneri <small>Mironov, 1978</small>
- Pourtalesia hispida <small>A. Agassiz, 1897</small>
- Pourtalesia jeffreysi <small>Thomson, 1873</small>
- Pourtalesia laguncula <small>A. Agassiz, 1879</small>
- Pourtalesia miranda <small>A. Agassiz, 1869</small>
- Pourtalesia tanneri <small>A. Agassiz, 1898</small>
- Pourtalesia thomsoni <small>Mironov, 1976</small>
- Pourtalesia vinogradovae <small>Mironov, 1995</small>
- genus Rictocystis <small>Mironov, 1996</small>
- Rictocystis jensenae <small>Mironov, 1996</small>
- genus Solenocystis<small> Mironov, 2008</small>
- Solenocystis imitans <small>Mironov, 2008</small>
- genus Spatagocystis <small>A. Agassiz, 1879</small>
- Spatagocystis challengeri <small> A. Agassiz, 1879</small>
References