The Echinoid Directory

Palaeocidaris Desor, in Aghassiz & Desor, 1846, p. 340

Diagnostic Features	Known from isolated elements only. Interambulacral plates like those of Archaeocidaris; primary tubercle perforate, with smooth parapet; areole prominent and sunken. Primary spines long, cylindrical, hollow, with smooth, unornamented shaft.
Distribution	Lower Carboniferous (Tournasian), Europe.
Name gender	feminine
Type	Cidarites nereii Munster, 1843, p. 40, by original designation.
Species Included	Only the type species.
Classification and/or Status	Stem group Echinoidea; Archaeocidaridae. Monotypic; nomen dubium.
Remarks	Taxon based on inadequate material. Interambulacral plates similar to those of Archaeocidaris and some species of Polytaxicidaris. Primary spines differ from those of the type species of Archaeocidaris in lacking thorns, but resemble spines of Polytaxicidaris. Best treated as a nomen dubium. Agassiz, L. & Desor, P. J. E. 1846-1847. Catalogue raisonné des familles, des genres, et des espèces de la classe des échinodermes. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Troisième Série, Zoologie: 6 (1846), 305-374, pls 15-16; 7 (1847), 129-168; 8 (1847), 5-35, 355-380. Jackson, R. T. 1929. Palaeozoic Echini of Belgium. Memoires du Musee Royal d\'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique 38, 1-96.