Spatangus
| Spatangus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Spatangus purpureus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Echinoidea |
| Order: | Spatangoida |
| Family: | Spatangidae |
| Genus: | Spatangus Gray, 1825 |
| Type species | |
| Spatangus purpureus (O.F. Müller, 1776) | |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
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Spatangus is a genus of heart urchins in the Spatangidae family. The genus is synonymous with the previously recognised genera Prospatangus Lambert, 1902 and Spatagus. There are nine recognised species. The type species is Spatangus purpureus Müller, 1776 by subsequent designation (Rowe & Gates, 1995).
Spatangus comprises marine heart urchins that feed on subsurface deposits and graze.
Fossil of heart urchins of this genus have been found in the sediments of Europe, United States, Egypt and Australia from Cretaceous to Pliocene (age range: 85.8 to 2.588 Ma).