Since 1972, scientists from all over the world working on fundamental questions of echinoderm biology and palaeontology confer in to exchange current views and results. The 11th International Echinoderm Conference held at the University of Munich, Germany continued this tradition. This volume comprises 95 submitted papers and 96 abstracts covering a wide spectrum from student contributions to those of experienced specialists. The content ranges from original research results to state-of-the art synopses concerning a variety of topics for example visual sensing, larvalcloning, mutable collagenous tissues, sea urchin aqua-culture, deuterostome phylogeny, palaeobiology and taphonomy.