Henricia Durham & Roberts, 1948
- Dataset
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy
- Rank
- GENUS
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Echinodermata
- class
- Asteroidea
- order
- Spinulosida
- family
- Echinasteridae
- genus
- Henricia
discussion
Remarks The unique holotype, from the Upper Cretaceous Chico Formation of the North Fork of Matilija Creek, Ventura County (California, USA), is contained in the palaeontological collections of the University of California. Part (number 4866 B) and counterpart (4866 A) show the abactinal and actinal surfaces, respectively. The type specimen is an external mould of a near-complete asteroid with moderately long, narrow arms and a small disc, which has lost the abactinal ossicles and exposes the ambulacrals on the abactinal surface. Unfortunately, parts of the moulds have been worn by erosion and few details are well preserved. The ambulacral heads are elongated, and the adambulacral ossicles are clearly visible, as are probable small marginal ossicles bearing spines. The groove is very wide. Although Blake (1984) assigned the taxon to the Benthopectinidae, there does not seem to be any compelling evidence for its taxonomic affinity, and it is considered here to be an indeterminate asteroid.