Echinoderms are marine animals from the phylum Echinodermata, with members of the group possessing a characteristic five-point radial symmetry. The LKCNHM’s echinoderm collection comprises almost 4,000 wet and dry specimens in over 2,000 catalogued lots, including sea stars, brittle stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and sea lilies.

The largest taxon in our collection would be the Echinoidea, comprising the sea urchins and sand dollars, with close to 1,500 catalogued specimens. Our echinoderm collection also comprises the Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers) and Crinoidea (sea lilies), with close to 1,000 specimens in each group, as well as Asteroidea (sea stars) and Ophiuroidea (brittle stars).

Since the 1980s, specimens obtained from Singapore waters have been mainly contributed by the Reef Ecology Study Team, Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey (CMBS), and Dr David J. W. Lane. Besides local surveys, material in our echinoderm collection have also been collected from expeditions to the Natuna Islands and Anambas Islands, Christmas Islands, and the South Java Deep-Sea Biodiversity Expedition (SJADES) 2018.