The Echinoid Directory

Iheringiella Berg, 1898, p. 16

[= Iheringia Lahille, 1898, p. 437, non Keyserling, 1891; = Iheringiana Berg, 1898, p. 41 (objective); = Iheringina Lahille, 1899, p. 395 (objective) ]

Diagnostic Features	Test discoidal with flat base and thin margin. Internal supports well developed as peripheral meshwork. No lunules or notches. All interambulacra continuous adorally; extremely narrow compared to ambulacra at ambitus. Basicoronal circlet pentastellate, with interambulacral plates projecting. Periproct oral, close to posterior margin; opening bounded by second and third post-basicoronal interambulacral plates. Food grooves bifurcating on second pair of ambulacral plates and then curving outwards, giving rise to small internal branches peripherally.
Distribution	Miocene of South America.
Name gender	feminine
Type	Scutella patagoniensis Desor, 1847, p. 287, by original designation.
Species Included	I. patagoniensis (Desor, 1847); Miocene, South America.
Classification and/or Status	Clypeasteroida; Scutellina; Scutelliformes; ? stem group Scutellidea. Monotypic.
Remarks	The narrowness of the interambulacral zones on the oral surface and at the ambitus, and the highly elongate basicoronal interambulacral plates are characteristics Iheringiella shares with Eoscutella, Karlaster, Amplaster and Monophoraster. Amplaster and Monophoraster differ in having an anal lunule and Karlaster has a deep and sharp anal notch. Eoscutella has a marginal periproct and its test is much wider than long. Iheringiella is unique in having food grooves bifurcating at the end of the second pair of ambulacral plates and not at the edge of the basicoronal circlet. In that respect it resembles certain genera of protoscutellid, such as Periarchus. Periarchus however, has five gonopores and much wider interambulacral zones. It is possible that Iheringiella is sister group to all other Scutellidea. Berg, C. 1898. Substitución de nombres genéricos I. Comunicaciones del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires 1, 16-19. [published 17th December, 1898] J. W. Durham 1955. Classification of clypeasteroid echinoids. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 31(4), 73-198.