ABSTRACT
Except for the famous St. Cassian Beds in Italian Dolomites, the Triassic echinod record is extremely poor, and only few Triassic localities contain well preserved echinoid material. An abundant fauna of echinoids has been found in the Upper Triassic (Carnian, Cordevolian) reef formation of Lesno Brdo near Ljubljana, central Slovenia. Although 37 species of echinoids have been found, only seven are based on sufficient test material to permit reliable generic identification. Two primary groupings of echinoids can be distinguished according to the lantern support structures, those with apophyses, and those with ambulacral lantern supports. However, only one species from Lesno Brdo (based on interambulacral fragment) has prominent apophyses, while in all other species the perignathic girdle is either lacking or composed of ambulacral auricles. The newly discovered echinoid fauna from Lesno Brdo is very similar to that from the St. Cassian Beds.
