ABSTRACT
Schizobrissus mauritanicusPomel, 1885, is an extinct species of echinoid from the Lower Miocene of Algeria, indicated by Pomel (1885) as the type species of the genus SchizobrissusPomel, 1869, but subsequent authors established Brissus cruciatus (Agassiz in Agassiz & Desor, 1847a) as type species. New collections within the type locality (Ben Abdelmalek Ramdane, formerly named Ouillis) allowed a careful redescription of S. mauritanicus by means of biometric measurements and thorough analysis of the oral plate architecture of these topotypical samples. Two morphological types differing by the elongation of the test and the dimensions of the plastronal area are documented. Synonymy of nominal Schizobrissus species are discussed.
Since Schizobrissus mauritanicus is well defined, as well as its type locality, and given the ambiguities and disagreement of the scientific community on S. cruciatus, it is now appropriate to restore S. mauritanicus as the type species of the genus.