Brittle stars move by lashing out their arms or wrapping them around objects and pulling themselves forward.

3. The phylum echinoderms is divided into five extant classes: Asteroidea (sea stars), Ophiuroidea (brittle stars), Echinoidea (sea urchins and sand dollars), Crinoidea (sea lilies or feather stars), and Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers). Although the basic echinoderm pattern of fivefold symmetry can be recognized, most crinoids have many more than five arms. Sea stars use their tube feet not only for gripping surfaces, but also for grasping prey.
Unlike sea stars, which have plump arms, brittle stars have long, thin arms that are sharply demarcated from the central disk. Their five arms make the radial symmetry easy to see.

They come in a large variety of shapes, colors, and sizes, with more than 1,800 species known so far. Like most echinoderms, blastoids were protected by a set of interlocking plates of calcium carbonate, which formed the main body, or theca.

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The left side then grows in a pentaradiallysymmetric fashion, in which the body is arranged in five parts … Although adult echinoderms possess pentaradial, or five-sided, symmetry, echinoderm larvae are ciliated, free-swimming organisms that organize in bilateral symmetry which makes them look like embryonic chordates.



The Eocrinoidea are an extinct class of echinoderms that lived between the Early Cambrian and Late Silurian periods.

They existed during the Paleozoic Era, in the Middle Ordovician and Silurian Periods, until their extinction in the Devonian Period. This article was most recently revised and updated by

This group includes crinoids, such as the feather stars. In some species these can sometimes be enlarged to flattened plates, forming armor. The crinoids, such as the sea lilies and feather stars, are considered to be the … Sea Stars or the pretty starfishes belong to this category of echinoderms. Blastoid Like most echinoderms, blastoids were protected by a set of interlocking plates of calcium carbonate, which formed the main body, or theca.


We want to hear from you.The phylum echinoderms is divided into five extant classes: Asteroidea (sea stars), Ophiuroidea (brittle stars), Echinoidea (sea urchins and sand dollars), Crinoidea (sea lilies or feather stars), and Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers).The most well-known echinoderms are members of class Asteroidea, or sea stars.

The larvae of echinoderms, especially starfish and sea urchins, are pelagic, and with the aid of ocean currents can be transported for great distances, reinforcing the global distribution of the phylum. Podia are small extensions of flesh which are operated by water pressure and muscles, and controlled by the nervous system of the echinoderm. They have a U-shaped gut; their anus is located next to the mouth.

The echinoderms can be divided into two major groups: Eleutherozoa are the echinoderms that can move. They are a diverse family, with 7,000 currently known species of echinoderms ranging from sea stars to sea cucumbers, and with the scientific community making new discoveries using ever developing technology, we could see many more species discovered in our lifetime. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Ophiuroids are generally scavengers or detritivores.

In life, the theca of a typical blastoid was attached to a stalk or column made up of stacked disc-shaped plates.

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