Maretia Gray 1855

Maretia is a genus of heart urchins belonging to the family Spatangidae.^[1][2]

Species

• Maretia carinata Bolau, 1873
• Maretia cordata Mortensen, 1948
• †Maretia estenozi Sánchez Roig, 1926
• Maretia planulata (Lamarck, 1816)^[3]

Description

These sea urchins are irregular, as the mouth is located at the front of the underside of the animal, while the anus is located in rear end position.

Fossil of Maretia pavesi from Miocene of Italy

Fossil record

Fossils of Maretia are found in marine strata from the Eocene until the Quaternary (age range: from 40.4 to 0.012 million years ago.). Fossils are known from some localities in United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Cuba, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Eritrea and Greece.^[4]

References

• Rowe, F.W.E & Gates, J. (1995). Echinodermata. In ‘Zoological Catalogue of Australia’. 33 (Ed A. Wells.) pp xiii + 510 (CSIRO Australia, Melbourne.)