Eupatagus Murraysensus in matrix

Eupatagus murrayensis (often misspelled as "murraysensus") is an extinct species of prehistoric heart urchin. These ancient echinoderms lived in the shallow marine environments of the Murray Basin during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs, roughly 5 to 23 million years ago.Quick Facts & Fossil CharacteristicsClassification: Belong to the order Spatangoida (heart urchins) and family Eupatagidae.Age: Early to Middle Miocene (approx. 23 - 15 million years old).Locations Found: Primarily excavated in the Mannum Formation along the Murray River in South Australia.Physical Traits: Like other spatangoids, E. murrayensis had an oval, bilaterally symmetrical, heart-shaped test (shell). They were covered in small, fine spines and possessed a "subanal fasciole" (a distinct band of tiny pores used for burrowing).Lifestyle: They were slow-moving deposit feeders that lived buried in the soft ocean floor sediments, filtering nutrients from the sand.

Mannum formation, Mannum, South Australia. Miocene 23 million years old.