Toxopneustidae


Toxopneustidae is a family of globular sea urchins in the class Echinoidea.

Characteristics

All Camarodonts have imperforate tubercles and compound ambulacral plates. In addition, the Toxopneustids are characterised by the peristome, or opening through the test, having a sharp margin with the buccal notches being prominent. The tubercles lack the crenulations or ring of cog-like structures that articulate with the spines in certain other families. The Aristotle's lantern, or jaw apparatus, has the keeled teeth and the epiphyses united above the foramen magnum, the V-shaped gap between the hemipyramids that support the lantern's tooth.

Genera