British jurassic regular echinoids. part 1, introduction, cidaroida, echinothurioida, aspidodiadematoida and perinoida by Andrew B. Smith. Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society, London, 169 (no. 644), 2015. No of pages: 61+xli. Price: UK£160-00. ISSN 0269-3445 (paperback)

Thompson, Jeffrey R. (2016) British jurassic regular echinoids. part 1, introduction, cidaroida, echinothurioida, aspidodiadematoida and perinoida by Andrew B. Smith. Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society, London, 169 (no. 644), 2015. No of pages: 61+xli. Price: UK£160-00. ISSN 0269-3445 (paperback). Geological Journal, 51 (6), 968. (doi:10.1002/gj.2853).

Abstract

The echinoid fauna of the British Jurassic is one of the best-known faunas of that age globally, thanks to over one hundred and fifty years of work. Smith has provided, in his typical style, an excellent and much needed modern systematic treatment for the regular echinoids of the British Jurassic (the irregular echinoids were described by Barras, 2006). Given the quality of the systematic treatment given by the author, and that many of the specimens studied in the monograph are of particular importance for early post-Palaeozoic echinoid evolution, this monograph is not just recommended, but necessary, for all students of echinoid palaeontology and evolution.

This is the first of two parts. Part one includes an introduction and stratigraphical framework and describes echinoids of the clades Cidaroida, Echinothurioida, Aspidodiadematoida and Pedinoida. This is a systematic work and as such will likely be of little interest to those not interested in fossil echinoids or the British Jurassic. However, to echinodermologists of the world, and fossil collectors and enthusiasts in the UK, this monograph provides an excellent reference and is now the gold standard for Jurassic echinoid research. This contribution is of particular importance to echinoid systematists, as it, much to the pleasure of this author, has set about re-describing and revising some of our most important Early Mesozoic echinoid taxa. The volume gives a thorough treatment of the British Jurassic Miocidaridae, a clade which survived through the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, and is in much need of systematic revision. Furthermore, the monograph has revised Diademopsis serialis, one of the oldest known euechinoid echinoids in the fossil record, and describes several echinothurioid echinoids, which in the modern oceans predominantly inhabit the deep sea, but were apparently found in shallower waters during the Jurassic. Having already made this book a ‘go-to’ in my own research, I expect that this volume will remain a mainstay of echinoid palaeontologists for many years to come.

The descriptions and diagnoses of the taxa are top notch. The photography is beautiful, and nicely details many of the important specimens housed at the Natural History Museum, London, and elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Many specimens are photographed at multiple angles and varying magnifications, making them particularly useful for detailed morphological studies such as phylogenetic analyses. Smith does a fine job of making note of where important specimens are housed, such that they will be easy for future workers to track down. It is of historical note that many of the specimens described and figured in this monograph were also featured in Wright (1857–1880).

As with all echinoderm monographs published as of late by the Palaeontographical Society, Smith's British Jurassic Regular Echinoids is of the very highest calibre. I strongly urge all echinoid palaeontologists to pick up a copy, as it is now a necessary and well-produced resource for Jurassic echinoid systematics.

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Contributors

Author: Jeffrey R. Thompson

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