Fossils

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Urchins are prolific members of an odd phylum of organisms known as Echinoidea which is comprised of such seemingly unrelated organisms as crinoids, sea cucumbers, starfish and sand dollars. The common thread in their morphology is a feature know as pentamerism or five-fold symmetry.

Most of the urchins in this section are not complete organisms but are only the "test" - meaning that the spines, which characteristally fall off immediately once an urchin is dried, are absent, leaving a clean and seemingly unnaturally colorful skeleton. Indeed, the test of some urchins, which in life is entriely hidden under a blanket of colorless spines, rivals the colors of some of the most exquisite insects in color and markings.