Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

PALAEOECOLOGY

Early echinoderms decouple form and function

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 6, pages 247–248 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Rapid morphological evolution in early echinoderms was later outpaced by increases in ecological diversification, indicating the phylum exhibited morphological volatility and ecological constraints at its origin.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Examples of morphological and ecological disparity in Cambrian and Ordovician echinoderms.

References

  1. Erwin, D. H. Curr. Biol. 25, R930–R940 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Rabosky, D. L. & Hurlbert, A. H. Am. Nat. 185, 572–583 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Hughes, M., Gerber, S. & Wills, M. A. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110, 13875–13879 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Novack-Gottshall, P. M. et al. Nat. Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01656-0 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Wright, D. F. Sci. Rep. 7, 13845 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Deline, B. in Elements of Paleontology hcxz (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).

  7. Ausich, W. I., Kammer, T. W., Rhenberg, E. C. & Wright, D. F. Palaeontology 58, 937–952 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Zamora, S. & Rahman, I. A. Palaeontology 57, 1105–1119 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Sheffield, S. L. & Sumrall, C. D. Palaeontology 62, 163–173 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Deline, B. et al. Curr. Biol. 30, 1672–1679 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Novack-Gottshall, P. M. Paleobiology 33, 273–294 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Anderson, P. S. Paleobiology. 35, 321–342 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Cole, S. R. & Hopkins, M. J. Sci. Adv. 7, eabf4027 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hopkins, M. J. & St. John, K. Syst. Biol. 70, 1163–1180 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Blomberg, S. P., Garland, T. Jr & Ives, A. R. Evolution 57, 717–745 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Wright, A., Wagner, P. J., & Wright, D. F. in Elements of Paleontology hcx2 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).

  17. Cole, S. R., Wright, D. F. & Ausich, W. I. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 521, 82–98 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA

    Selina R. Cole

Authors
  1. Selina R. Cole
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Selina R. Cole.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cole, S.R. Early echinoderms decouple form and function. Nat Ecol Evol 6, 247–248 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01664-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01664-8

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing