Billet, D.: "The Rise and Rise of the Sea Cucumber," New Scientist, March 20, 1986, pages 48–51. Sea cucumbers often swim, and there are many more than once thought; beautiful illustrations.

Birkeland, C.: "The Faustian Traits of the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish," American Scientist, 1989, vol. 77, pages 154–63. Very rapid growth during its early years causes Acanthaster planci to lose its body integrity later in life.

Davidson, E., B. Hough-Evans, and R. Britten: "Molecular Biology of the Sea Urchin Embryo," Science, 1982, vol. 217, pages 17–26. Many fundamental insights into the molecular biology of animal development have been gained by studying sea urchins.

Hickman, C.P., Jr., L.S. Roberts, and A. Larson: Integrated Principles of Zoology, 10th ed., WCB/McGraw-Hill, 1997. One of the most widely used general zoology texts, with a fine treatment of echinoderms in chapter 24.

Kozloff, E.: Invertebrates, Saunders, Philadelphia, 1990. A good general text on invertebrates, with a fine treatment of echinoderms.

Lawrence, J.: A Functional Biology of Echinoderms, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 1987. A comprehensive, modern perspective on echinoderm biology. Clearly written and well illustrated, with emphasis on feeding, maintenance, and reproduction.

Pearse, V. and J., and Buchsbaum, M. and R.: Living Invertebrates, Blackwell, Palo Alto, CA, 1987. A brief look at starfish and other echinoderms.

Pechenik, J.: Biology of the Invertebrates, Prindle, Weber & Schmidt, Boston, 1985. An excellent brief overview of invertebrates, with a good treatment of echinoderms.

Williamson, D.I.: Larvae and Evolution: Toward a New Zoology, Chapman and Hall, New York, 1992. Often the critical information about an organism that places it within its correct taxon comes from larval anatomy—echinoderms were considered radially symmetrical until their larval forms were studied! With a foreword by Lynn Margulis.