''Pourtalesia'' is a genus of the family
Pourtalesiidae
The pourtalesiids (Pourtalesiidae) are a family of irregular sea urchins that live in the deep sea. They are secondarily bilateral-symmetrical and like other representatives of the taxon Holasteroida they lack the lantern of Aristotle, which is ...
which belongs to the
irregular (
bilaterally symmetrical
Symmetry in biology refers to the symmetry observed in organisms, including plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. External symmetry can be easily seen by just looking at an organism. For example, take the face of a human being which has a pla ...
)
sea urchin
Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
s. The animals measure 5–6 cm in length and live in the abyssal zone of the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
,
Pacific,
Indopacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
and
Antarctic Oceans where they have been found in more than 3,000 m depth. The mouth opening of these animals is located anteriorly and the
lantern of Aristotle is missing as typically for
holasteroid sea urchins.
Species
Currently, 11 species of ''Pourtalesia'' are recognized.
* ''
Pourtalesia alcocki''
Koehler, 1914
* ''
Pourtalesia aurorae''
Koehler, 1926
* ''
Pourtalesia debilis''
Koehler, 1926
* ''
Pourtalesia heptneri''
Mironov, 1978
* ''
Pourtalesia hispida''
A. Agassiz, 1897
* ''
Pourtalesia jeffreysi''
Thomson Thomson may refer to:
Names
* Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin
* Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson
Businesses and organizations
* SGS-Thomson Mic ...
, 1873
* ''
Pourtalesia laguncula''
A. Agassiz, 1879
* ''
Pourtalesia miranda''
A. Agassiz, 1869
* ''
Pourtalesia tanneri''
A. Agassiz, 1898
* ''
Pourtalesia thomsoni''
Mironov, 1976
* ''
Pourtalesia vinogradovae''
Mironov, 1995
References
Holasteroida
{{echinoidea-stub