Research • A study on the morphology of specimens of the
blastoid species
Deltoblastus batheri and
Deltoblastus delta from the
Permian of
Timor, evaluating whether the differences indicative of
niche differentiation could be detected, is published by Morgan (2018). • A study on the morphological development of the primary large
thecal plate in the widest part of the theca of
Guizhoueocrinus yui is published online by Wang
et al. (2018). • Fatka, Nohejlová & Lefebvre (2018) interpret enigmatic
Drumian echinoderm
Lapillocystites fragilis as likely
junior synonym of the
edrioasteroid species
Stromatocystites pentangularis. • A study on the frequency of breakage and regeneration in the spines of the Middle
Devonian camerate Gennaeocrinus and late
Paleozoic cladids, as well as a survey of the prevalence of spinosity and infestation by
platyceratid gastropods on crinoids during the Paleozoic, is published by Syverson
et al. (2018). • Brachial spines of
pirasocrinid cladid crinoids displaying evidence for multiple episodes of breakage and
regeneration are described from the Upper
Pennsylvanian Ames Member of the
Glenshaw Formation (
Ohio,
United States) by Thomka & Eddy (2018). • A study on the morphology of arms of fossil and modern crinoids spanning from the
Ordovician to the recent, evaluating whether known crinoid
clades had more capacity to evolve morphological variation around the time of their origin than later in their evolutionary history, is published by Pimiento
et al. (2018). • A study on the changes of the body sizes of crinoids after the
Late Devonian extinction is published by Brom, Salamon & Gorzelak (2018). • A study on the phylogenetic relationships of
disparid crinoids is published by Ausich (2018). • A study on the microstructure of the stalk of the
Triassic crinoid
Holocrinus is published by Gorzelak (2018), who interprets his findings as indicating that
Holocrinus was likely capable of stalk
autotomy. • A study on the occurrences of post-
Paleozoic (
Ladinian to
Ypresian) crinoids from northeast
Spain, on the main
stratigraphic and
sedimentological features of the sedimentary units that have yielded complete identifiable crinoids, and on their implications for reconstructing the environmental distribution of these crinoids, is published by Zamora
et al. (2018). • 37 new Antarctic and Australian occurrences of Cenozoic
isocrinid crinoids, representing nine different species in three genera, are reported by Whittle
et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that isocrinid migration from shallow to deep water during the
Mesozoic marine revolution did not occur at the same time all over the world. • A study on the evolution of
Paleozoic starfish is published by Blake (2018), who names new extinct orders
Euaxosida,
Hadrosida, and
Kermasida, as well as new families
Lacertasteridae,
Permasteridae, and
Illusioluididae. • A study on the evolution of the species richness and
morphological diversity of sea urchins in the
Jurassic (
Toarcian to
Tithonian stages) is published by Boivin
et al. (2018).
New taxa ==References==