Echinosphaerites is a genus of rhombiferan Cystoidea that lived in the Early to Middle Ordovician of North America and Europe (Bockelie, 1981).
Biology
Echinosphaerites had branched biserial
brachioles which is rare for species belonging to the Class
Eocrinoidea. Echinosphaerites had a skeletal meshwork like many other
Blastoid echinoderms, with a fine outer mesh layer and an inner coarse mesh layer. During evolution the number and location of these brachioles, including the branching patterns, increased in the number of brachioles and complexity of the branching pattern. The exothecal pore structures increased in the complexity of patterns of tangential canals (Bockelie, 1981).
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Bockelie, J.F., 1981. Functional morphology and evolution of the cystoid Echinosphaerites. Lethaia 14: 189–202.
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