title: Asterocidaris
text: # Asterocidaris
  
  Asterocidaris is a genus of fossils sea urchins in the family Hemicidaridae. These epifaunal grazer-deposit feeders lived in the Middle and Upper Jurassic age (from 171.6 to 161.2 Ma).
  
  ## Species
  
  * Asterocidaris besairiei Lambert, 1936 †
  * Asterocidaris meandrina (Agassiz 1840) †
  * Asterocidaris ragoti Lambert, 1936 †
  
  ## Description
  
  These fossil spined echinoid sea urchins can reach a diameter of about 25 millimetres (0.98 in), with spicules of about 69x60mm. They are hemispherical, flattened beneath, with small apical disc.
  
  ## Distribution
  
  Fossils of species within this genus have been found in the Middle to Upper Jurassic sediments (Bajocian-Oxfordian) in Europe, Madagascar and Africa (Morocco).
  
  