Coelopleurus
Coelopleurus is an extant genus of echinoids with fossil records dating back to the Eocene, with remains found in Europe and North America.
Characteristics
These abyssal sea urchins are characterized by their surprisingly bright color pattern, usually red and white. Even more surprisingly, their tests are brightly colored, too, even after drying, or sometimes fossilization.Species
According to World [Register of Marine Species]:- Coelopleurus australis H.L. Clark, 1916
- Coelopleurus carolinensis Cooke, 1941a †
- Coelopleurus castroi Maury, 1930 †
- Coelopleurus exquisitus Coppard & Schultz, 2006
- Coelopleurus floridanus Agassiz, 1872
- Coelopleurus granulatus Ole [Theodor Jensen Mortensen|Mortensen], 1934
- Coelopleurus interruptus Ludwig Heinrich [Philipp Döderlein|Döderlein], 1910
- Coelopleurus longicollis Agassiz & H.L. Clark, 1908
- Coelopleurus maculatus Agassiz & H.L. Clark, 1907
- Coelopleurus maillardi
- Coelopleurus melitensis Zammit-Maempel, 1969 †
- Coelopleurus singularis Nisiyama, 1966
- Coelopleurus undulatus Mortensen, 1934a
- Coelopleurus vittatus Koehler, 1927
- †Coelopleurus elegans, from the Pleistocene of the Jizo-do formation of Japan