Echinoderms are relatives of the sea urchin, including the starfish, sea cucumbers, and brittlestars. Like urchins, these other echinoderm groups have a basic 5-part radial symmetry and a skeleton made of modified limestone elements. They are very diverse, and this was further brought to light by some discoveries made on the 2011 Philippines Biodiversity Expedition.
This slide show was brought to us by Rich Mooi, Curator and Chairman of the Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Geology, California Academy of Sciences.
- New York Times Scientist at Work blog by Rich Mooi
- Part 1 of this photo gallery, focusing on sea urchins