The evolution of the sea star, sea urchin, and other echinoderms’ body shape during the Cambrian and Ordovician periods was faster and more dramatic than their ecological innovation, according to a ...

The study outlines a new scenario for understanding how genome regulation and chromatin organization influence the evolution of animal body plans. The conservation of genome regulatory elements over ...

Scientists trying to work out where a starfish’s head is have come to a startling conclusion: it is effectively the whole animal. As well as solving this longstanding mystery, the finding will help us ...

Echinoderms, including sea urchins and sea cucumbers, offer a unique window into the evolution of innate immunity. Their immune systems operate without the classical adaptive components seen in ...

Echinoderms are a phylum of exclusively marine deuterostome invertebrates characterized by pentaradial symmetry in adults, a calcareous endoskeleton composed of ossicles, and a unique water vascular ...