Upper Cretaceous echinoids from James Ross Basin, Antarctica

New palaeontological collections made from Upper Cretaceous strata exposed within the James Ross Basin, Antarctica, include ten echinoid species. Five species are described for the first time from Antarctica, while four other s, previously published by Lambert in 1910, are revised according to the ne w data. The described echinoids comprise two new species, Huttonechinus ant arctica nov. sp. and Nordenskjoeldaster ? australis nov, sp., specimens clo sely related to an European spatangoid, Micraster aff. regularis, and three taxa that cannot be named at the specific level owing to Door preservation . In total, the fauna comprises three species of regular echinoids, five ho lasteroids, and two spatangoids. The ten taxa range in age from Santonian t o Early Maastrichtian. The richest faunas are those associated with the pro lific Gunnarites antarcticus ammonite assemblage. Several forms show affini ties with Australia, New Zealand, south-east Africa and South America. Ther e are indications that this is an essentially deep shelf echinoid fauna.