Predation, Resistance, and Escalation in Sessile Crinoids

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Predation, Resistance, and Escalation in Sessile Crinoids Predation, resistance, and escalation in sessile crinoids by Valerie J. Syverson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Geology) in the University of Michigan 2014 Doctoral Committee: Professor Tomasz K. Baumiller, Chair Professor Daniel C. Fisher Research Scientist Janice L. Pappas Professor Emeritus Gerald R. Smith Research Scientist Miriam L. Zelditch © Valerie J. Syverson, 2014 Dedication To Mark. “We shall swim out to that brooding reef in the sea and dive down through black abysses to Cyclopean and many-columned Y'ha-nthlei, and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory for ever.” ii Acknowledgments I wish to thank my advisor and committee chair, Tom Baumiller, for his guidance in helping me to complete this work and develop a mature scientific perspective and for giving me the academic freedom to explore several fruitless ideas along the way. Many thanks are also due to my past and present labmates Alex Janevski and Kris Purens for their friendship, moral support, frequent and productive arguments, and shared efforts to understand the world. And to Meg Veitch, here’s hoping we have a chance to work together hereafter. My committee members Miriam Zelditch, Janice Pappas, Jerry Smith, and Dan Fisher have provided much useful feedback on how to improve both the research herein and my writing about it. Daniel Miller has been both a great supervisor and mentor and an inspiration to good scholarship. And to the other paleontology grad students and the rest of the department faculty, thank you for many interesting discussions and much enjoyable socializing over the last five years. Many thanks to the other participants and instructors in the 2011 Paleobiology Database Intensive Workshop in Analytical Methods at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. The things I learned there, both concrete and intangible, would have been hard to find elsewhere. And belated thanks also go to Don Prothero and Joe Kirschvink, my undergraduate advisors, for giving me a jump start into paleontological research. Each of the chapters benefited from particular help from my collaborators and reviewers. Thanks to Karl Stanley for enabling data collection, and to Charles Messing for identification and editorial comments, in chapter II. J. M. Koniecki kindly provided access to his private collection of Paleozoic crinoid specimens for Chapter III. Anna Reed and Forest Gahn collected the data used in Chapter IV. Dr. Carlton Brett was of great help in providing guidance on Chapter V. Chapters II and III also benefited from helpful comments from the editors of, respectively, the Bulletin of Marine Science and Paleobiology, and thoughful reviews from Dave Meyer, Tatsuo Oji, and several anonymous reviewers. I would also like to thank the various foundations and programs that provided the funding for my graduate studies and the research projects presented herein. These include a Shell Graduate Fellowship; NSF grant National Science Foundation (DEB 1036393, 1036219; EAR iii 0824793); the National Geographic Society (NGS 8505-08; CRE Research Grant 9283-13); and a Rackham Dissertation Fellowship. And thanks, last and most, to my friends and family. To all my friends here in Ann Arbor, especially Emile Moacdieh and Abby Purens: I’m so glad I got to meet you, and that we’ve had the chance to do this together. To my dear friends from Caltech, many of whom are also embarking on their academic careers at this very moment: let’s go forth and conquer! To my parents, Rebecca Stickler and Bryan Syverson, thank you for seeding my mind with books on paleontology, convincing me I could do anything I wanted to do, and then supporting me through college so that I could have a chance to prove them right. To my brother Joe Syverson, thanks for making me want to be an awesome big sister. To Phyllis and Patrick Poon, thank you for all your support and for making Ann Arbor feel like home. And to my wonderful fiancé Daniel Poon, who has been a rock of patience and emotional support during my grad-school angst, and provided a much-needed outside perspective that continues to save me from academic tunnel-vision: thank you, love. iv Table of Contents Dedication .................................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................................... viii List of Appendices .................................................................................................................................................... ix Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................................... x Chapter I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Predatory interactions in the fossil record ................................................................................................... 1 Escalation and marine revolutions ............................................................................................................ 2 Crinoids and antagonistic biotic interactions ............................................................................................. 3 General anatomy and natural history of the taxon .............................................................................. 3 Basic crinoid taxonomy .................................................................................................................................. 4 Paleozoic & post-Paleozoic history of the Crinoidea ........................................................................... 4 History of predation and parasitism in crinoids ................................................................................... 5 Defensive adaptations ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Summaries of the following chapters .......................................................................................................... 10 Figures ...................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter II. Growth, injury, and population dynamics in the extant cyrtocrinid Holopus mikihe (Crinoidea, Echinodermata) near Roatán, Honduras ................................................................. 15 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 16 Growth rates and regeneration frequencies in other crinoid taxa ............................................... 17 Data sources and methods ............................................................................................................................... 19 Location of dives ............................................................................................................................................. 19 Methods of data collection .......................................................................................................................... 19 Results ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Size and spatial distribution ...................................................................................................................... 20 Growth and regeneration rates .................................................................................................................. 21 Discussion .............................................................................................................................................................. 23 Growth and life history................................................................................................................................. 23 Habitat and behavior ..................................................................................................................................... 25 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................ 26 Figures ...................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Tables ....................................................................................................................................................................... 31 v Chapter III. Temporal
Recommended publications
  • Crinoidea, Echinodermata) from Poland
    Title: Uncovering the hidden diversity of Mississippian crinoids (Crinoidea, Echinodermata) from Poland Author: Mariusz A. Salamon, William I. Ausich, Tomasz Brachaniec, Bartosz J. Płachno, Przemysław Gorzelak Citation style: Salamon Mariusz A., Ausich William I., Brachaniec Tomasz, Płachno Bartosz J., Gorzelak Przemysław. (2020). Uncovering the hidden diversity of Mississippian crinoids (Crinoidea, Echinodermata) from Poland. "PeerJ" Vol. 8 (2020), art. no e10641, doi 10.7717/peerj.10641 Uncovering the hidden diversity of Mississippian crinoids (Crinoidea, Echinodermata) from Poland Mariusz A. Salamon1, William I. Ausich2, Tomasz Brachaniec1, Bartosz J. Pªachno3 and Przemysªaw Gorzelak4 1 Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Sosnowiec, Poland 2 School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States of America 3 Faculty of Biology, Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Cracow, Poland 4 Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, Warsaw, Poland ABSTRACT Partial crinoid crowns and aboral cups are reported from the Mississippian of Poland for the first time. Most specimens are partially disarticulated or isolated plates, which prevent identification to genus and species, but regardless these remains indicate a rich diversity of Mississippian crinoids in Poland during the Mississippian, especially during the late Viséan. Lanecrinus? sp. is described from the late Tournaisian of the D¦bnik Anticline region. A high crinoid biodiversity occurred during late Viséan of the Holy Cross Mountains, including the camerate crinoids Gilbertsocrinus? sp., Platycrinitidae Indeterminate; one flexible crinoid; and numerous eucladid crinoids, including Cyathocrinites mammillaris (Phillips), three taxa represented by partial cups left in open nomenclature, and numerous additional taxa known only from isolated radial plates, brachial plates, and columnals.
    [Show full text]
  • Two New Crinoids from Lower Mississippian Rocks in Southeastern Kentucky
    TWO NEW CRINOIDS FROM LOWER MISSISSIPPIAN ROCKS IN SOUTHEASTERN KENTUCKY BY GEORGE M. EHLERS AND ROBERT V. KESLING Reprinted from JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY Val. 37, No. 5, September, 1963 JOURNALOF PALEONTOLOGY,V. 37, NO. 5, P. 1028-1041, PLS. 133,134, 3 TEXT-FIGS., SEPTEMBER,1963 TWO NEW CRINOIDS FROM L20\'C7ERMISSISSIPPIAN ROCKS IN SOUTHEASTERN KENTUCKY GEORGE M. EHLERS AKD ROBERT V. ICESLING Museum of Paleontology, The University of Michigan .~BsTR.~~T-AII~~~~specimens collected many years ago bl- the senior author and his students near Mill Springs, Kentucky, are a new species of Agaricocrinzis and a new speries of Actino- crinites. Although only one specimen of each is known, it is well preserved. The new Agnrico- crinus bears a resemblance to A. ponderoszts Wood, and the new Actinocriniles to four species described by Miller & Gurley: A. spergenensis, A. botuztosz~s,A. gibsoni, and A. shnronensis. A preliminary survey of species assigned to Agaricocrinz~ssuggests that revision of the genus is overdue. Although the occurrence of the specimens leaves some doubt as to their stratigraphic posi- tion, we conclude that they both probably weathered from the Fort Payne formation and rolled down the slope onto the New Providence, where they were found. The sites where the crinoids were picked up are now deeply inundated by water impounded by the Wolf Creek dam on the Cumberland River. INTRODUCTION onto the New Providence, \$here they were OTH of the new crinoids described here are found. rZt present, both the New Providence B from Lower Mississippian rocks in the valley formation and the I~asalbeds of the Fort Payne of the Cumberland River in Wayne and Russell are underwater at the type locality of the new Counties, Kentucky.
    [Show full text]
  • Evidence for Cospeciation Events in the Host–Symbiont System Involving Crinoids (Echinodermata) and Their Obligate Associates, the Myzostomids (Myzostomida, Annelida)
    Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 54 (2010) 357–371 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ympev Evidence for cospeciation events in the host–symbiont system involving crinoids (Echinodermata) and their obligate associates, the myzostomids (Myzostomida, Annelida) Déborah Lanterbecq a,*, Grey W. Rouse b, Igor Eeckhaut a a Marine Biology Laboratory, University of Mons, 6 Av. du Champ de Mars, Bât. Sciences de la vie, B-7000 Mons, Belgium b Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA article info abstract Article history: Although molecular-based phylogenetic studies of hosts and their associates are increasingly common Received 14 April 2009 in the literature, no study to date has examined the hypothesis of coevolutionary process between Revised 3 August 2009 hosts and commensals in the marine environment. The present work investigates the phylogenetic Accepted 12 August 2009 relationships among 16 species of obligate symbiont marine worms (Myzostomida) and their echino- Available online 15 August 2009 derm hosts (Crinoidea) in order to estimate the phylogenetic congruence existing between the two lin- eages. The combination of a high species diversity in myzostomids, their host specificity, their wide Keywords: variety of lifestyles and body shapes, and millions years of association, raises many questions about Coevolution the underlying mechanisms triggering their diversification. The phylogenetic
    [Show full text]
  • Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (2012)
    FGDC-STD-018-2012 Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard Marine and Coastal Spatial Data Subcommittee Federal Geographic Data Committee June, 2012 Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC-STD-018-2012 Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard, June 2012 ______________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS PAGE 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Objectives ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Need ......................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Scope ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.4 Application ............................................................................................................... 3 1.5 Relationship to Previous FGDC Standards .............................................................. 4 1.6 Development Procedures ......................................................................................... 5 1.7 Guiding Principles ................................................................................................... 7 1.7.1 Build a Scientifically Sound Ecological Classification .................................... 7 1.7.2 Meet the Needs of a Wide Range of Users ......................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Two Marine Organisms
    THE SINGAPORE BLUE PLAN 2018 EDITORS ZEEHAN JAAFAR DANWEI HUANG JANI THUAIBAH ISA TANZIL YAN XIANG OW NICHOLAS YAP PUBLISHED BY THE SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGY OCTOBER 2018 THE SINGAPORE BLUE PLAN 2018 PUBLISHER THE SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGY C/O NSSE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 1 NANYANG WALK SINGAPORE 637616 CONTACT: [email protected] ISBN: 978-981-11-9018-6 COPYRIGHT © TEXT THE SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGY COPYRIGHT © PHOTOGRAPHS AND FIGURES BY ORINGAL CONTRIBUTORS AS CREDITED DATE OF PUBLICATION: OCTOBER 2018 EDITED BY: Z. JAAFAR, D. HUANG, J.T.I. TANZIL, Y.X. OW, AND N. YAP COVER DESIGN BY: ABIGAYLE NG THE SINGAPORE BLUE PLAN 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The editorial team owes a deep gratitude to all contributors of The Singapore Blue Plan 2018 who have tirelessly volunteered their expertise and effort into this document. We are fortunate to receive the guidance and mentorship of Professor Leo Tan, Professor Chou Loke Ming, Professor Peter Ng, and Mr Francis Lim throughout the planning and preparation stages of The Blue Plan 2018. We are indebted to Dr. Serena Teo, Ms Ria Tan and Dr Neo Mei Lin who have made edits that improved the earlier drafts of this document. We are grateful to contributors of photographs: Heng Pei Yan, the Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey photography team, Ria Tan, Sudhanshi Jain, Randolph Quek, Theresa Su, Oh Ren Min, Neo Mei Lin, Abraham Matthew, Rene Ong, van Heurn FC, Lim Swee Cheng, Tran Anh Duc, and Zarina Zainul. We thank The Singapore Institute of Biology for publishing and printing the The Singapore Blue Plan 2018.
    [Show full text]
  • The Crinoids of Madagascar
    Bull. Mus. nain. Hist, nat., Paris, 4e sér., 3, 1981, section A, n° 2 : 379-413. The Crinoids of Madagascar by Janet I. MARSHALL and F. W. E. ROWE * Abstract. — A collection of crinoids from the vicinity of the Malagasy Republic, held in the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, in Paris, is identified. Three new species are described in the genera Chondrometra, Iridometra and Pentametrocrinus. The nominal species Comissia hartmeyeri A. H. Clark is considered to be conspecific with C. ignota A. H. Clark, and Dichro- metra afra A. H. Clark with D. flagellata (J. Müller). Comments are included on several syste- matic problems which have arisen during the study of this collection. Résumé. — Détermination d'une collection de Crinoïdes de Madagascar, déposée au Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle de Paris. Trois nouvelles espèces sont décrites pour les genres Chon- drometra, Iridometra et Pentametrocrinus. L'espèce Comissia hartmeyeri A. H. Clark est considérée comme synonyme de C. ignota A. H. Clark, et Dichrometra afra A. H. Clark comme synonyme de D. flagellata (J. Müller). Quelques problèmes systématiques sont discutés. INTRODUCTION The echinoderm fauna of South Africa and some parts of the Indian Ocean have been well documented, but that of Madagascar and of the African coast north of Mozambique is less well known. The island of Madagascar (the Malagasy Republic) stretches from approximately 12° S to 26° S through tropical to warm-temperate waters. The echino- derms found along the Malagasy coast are for the most part distinctly different from that of southern Africa as delimited by the Tropic of Capricorn (23°3(V S) (see A.
    [Show full text]
  • Progress in Echinoderm Paleobiology
    Journal of Paleontology, 91(4), 2017, p. 579–581 Copyright © 2017, The Paleontological Society 0022-3360/17/0088-0906 doi: 10.1017/jpa.2017.20 Progress in echinoderm paleobiology Samuel Zamora1,2 and Imran A. Rahman3 1Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), C/Manuel Lasala, 44, 9ºB, 50006, Zaragoza, Spain 〈[email protected]〉 2Unidad Asociada en Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Zaragoza-IGME, Zaragoza, Spain 3Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW, United Kingdom 〈[email protected]〉 Echinoderms are a diverse and successful phylum of exclusively Universal elemental homology (UEH) has proven to be one marine invertebrates that have an extensive fossil record dating of the most powerful approaches for understanding homology back to Cambrian Stage 3 (Zamora and Rahman, 2014). There in early pentaradial echinoderms (Sumrall, 2008, 2010; Sumrall are five extant classes of echinoderms (asteroids, crinoids, and Waters, 2012; Kammer et al., 2013). This hypothesis echinoids, holothurians, and ophiuroids), but more than 20 focuses on the elements associated with the oral region, extinct groups, all of which are restricted to the Paleozoic identifying possible homologies at the level of specific plates. (Sumrall and Wray, 2007). As a result, to fully appreciate the Two papers, Paul (2017) and Sumrall (2017), deal with the modern diversity of echinoderms, it is necessary to study their homology of plates associated with the oral area in early rich fossil record. pentaradial echinoderms. The former contribution describes and Throughout their existence, echinoderms have been an identifies homology in various ‘cystoid’ groups and represents a important component of marine ecosystems.
    [Show full text]
  • DEEP SEA LEBANON RESULTS of the 2016 EXPEDITION EXPLORING SUBMARINE CANYONS Towards Deep-Sea Conservation in Lebanon Project
    DEEP SEA LEBANON RESULTS OF THE 2016 EXPEDITION EXPLORING SUBMARINE CANYONS Towards Deep-Sea Conservation in Lebanon Project March 2018 DEEP SEA LEBANON RESULTS OF THE 2016 EXPEDITION EXPLORING SUBMARINE CANYONS Towards Deep-Sea Conservation in Lebanon Project Citation: Aguilar, R., García, S., Perry, A.L., Alvarez, H., Blanco, J., Bitar, G. 2018. 2016 Deep-sea Lebanon Expedition: Exploring Submarine Canyons. Oceana, Madrid. 94 p. DOI: 10.31230/osf.io/34cb9 Based on an official request from Lebanon’s Ministry of Environment back in 2013, Oceana has planned and carried out an expedition to survey Lebanese deep-sea canyons and escarpments. Cover: Cerianthus membranaceus © OCEANA All photos are © OCEANA Index 06 Introduction 11 Methods 16 Results 44 Areas 12 Rov surveys 16 Habitat types 44 Tarablus/Batroun 14 Infaunal surveys 16 Coralligenous habitat 44 Jounieh 14 Oceanographic and rhodolith/maërl 45 St. George beds measurements 46 Beirut 19 Sandy bottoms 15 Data analyses 46 Sayniq 15 Collaborations 20 Sandy-muddy bottoms 20 Rocky bottoms 22 Canyon heads 22 Bathyal muds 24 Species 27 Fishes 29 Crustaceans 30 Echinoderms 31 Cnidarians 36 Sponges 38 Molluscs 40 Bryozoans 40 Brachiopods 42 Tunicates 42 Annelids 42 Foraminifera 42 Algae | Deep sea Lebanon OCEANA 47 Human 50 Discussion and 68 Annex 1 85 Annex 2 impacts conclusions 68 Table A1. List of 85 Methodology for 47 Marine litter 51 Main expedition species identified assesing relative 49 Fisheries findings 84 Table A2. List conservation interest of 49 Other observations 52 Key community of threatened types and their species identified survey areas ecological importanc 84 Figure A1.
    [Show full text]
  • PROGRAMME ABSTRACTS AGM Papers
    The Palaeontological Association 63rd Annual Meeting 15th–21st December 2019 University of Valencia, Spain PROGRAMME ABSTRACTS AGM papers Palaeontological Association 6 ANNUAL MEETING ANNUAL MEETING Palaeontological Association 1 The Palaeontological Association 63rd Annual Meeting 15th–21st December 2019 University of Valencia The programme and abstracts for the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association are provided after the following information and summary of the meeting. An easy-to-navigate pocket guide to the Meeting is also available to delegates. Venue The Annual Meeting will take place in the faculties of Philosophy and Philology on the Blasco Ibañez Campus of the University of Valencia. The Symposium will take place in the Salon Actos Manuel Sanchis Guarner in the Faculty of Philology. The main meeting will take place in this and a nearby lecture theatre (Salon Actos, Faculty of Philosophy). There is a Metro stop just a few metres from the campus that connects with the centre of the city in 5-10 minutes (Line 3-Facultats). Alternatively, the campus is a 20-25 minute walk from the ‘old town’. Registration Registration will be possible before and during the Symposium at the entrance to the Salon Actos in the Faculty of Philosophy. During the main meeting the registration desk will continue to be available in the Faculty of Philosophy. Oral Presentations All speakers (apart from the symposium speakers) have been allocated 15 minutes. It is therefore expected that you prepare to speak for no more than 12 minutes to allow time for questions and switching between presenters. We have a number of parallel sessions in nearby lecture theatres so timing will be especially important.
    [Show full text]
  • Echinodermata: Crinoidea: Comatulida: Himerometridae) from Okinawa-Jima Island, Southwestern Japan
    Two new records of Heterometra comatulids (Echinodermata: Title Crinoidea: Comatulida: Himerometridae) from Okinawa-jima Island, southwestern Japan Author(s) Obuchi, Masami Citation Fauna Ryukyuana, 13: 1-9 Issue Date 2014-07-25 URL http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12000/38630 Rights Fauna Ryukyuana ISSN 2187-6657 http://w3.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/naruse/lab/Fauna_Ryukyuana.html Two new records of Heterometra comatulids (Echinodermata: Crinoidea: Comatulida: Himerometridae) from Okinawa-jima Island, southwestern Japan Masami Obuchi Biological Institute on Kuroshio. 680 Nishidomari, Otsuki-cho, Kochi 788-0333, Japan. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Two himerometrid comatulids from collected from a different environment: Okinawa-jima Island are reported as new to the Heterometra quinduplicava (Carpenter, 1888) from Japanese crinoid fauna. Heterometra quinduplicava a sandy bottom environment (Oura Bay), and (Carpenter, 1888) was found on a shallow sandy Heterometra sarae AH Clark, 1941, from a coral bottom of a closed bay, which was previously reef at a more exposed area. We report on these considered as an unsuitable habitat for comatulids. new records for the Japanese comatulid fauna. The specimens on hand are much larger than previously known specimens, and differ in the Materials and Methods extent of carination on proximal pinnules. Heterometra sarae AH Clark, 1941, was collected General terminology for description mainly follows from a coral reef area. These records extend the Messing (1997) and Rankin & Messing (2008). geographic ranges of both species northward. Following Kogo (1998), comparative lengths of pinnules are represented using inequality signs. The Introduction terms for ecological notes follows Meyer & Macurda (1980). Abbreviations are as follows: The genus Heterometra AH Clark, 1909, is the R: radius; length from center of centrodorsal to largest genus in the order Comatulida, and includes longest arm tip, measured to the nearest 5 mm.
    [Show full text]
  • In Situ Observations Increase the Diversity Records of Rocky-Reef Inhabiting Echinoderms Along the South West Coast of India
    Indian Journal of Geo Marine Sciences Vol. 48 (10), October 2019, pp. 1528-1533 In situ observations increase the diversity records of Rocky-reef inhabiting Echinoderms along the South West Coast of India Surendar Chandrasekar1*, Singarayan Lazarus2, Rethnaraj Chandran3, Jayasingh Chellama Nisha3, Gigi Chandra Rajan4 and Chowdula Satyanarayana1 1Marine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai 600 028, Tamil Nadu, India 2Institute for Environmental Research and Social Education, No.150, Nesamony Nagar, Nagercoil 629001, Tamil Nadu, India 3GoK-Coral Transplantation/Restoration Project, Zoological Survey of India - Field Station, Jamnagar 361 001, Gujrat, India 4Department of Zoology, All Saints College, Trivandrum 695 008, Kerala, India *[Email: [email protected]] Received 19 January 2018; revised 23 April 2018 Diversity of Echinoderms was studied in situ in rocky reefs areas of the south west coast of India from Goa (Lat. N 15°21.071’; Long. E 073°47.069’) to Kanyakumari (Lat. N 08°06.570’; Long. E 077°18.120’) via Karnataka and Kerala. The underwater visual census to assess the biodiversity was carried out by SCUBA diving. This study reveals 11 new records to Goa, 7 to Karnataka, 5 to Kerala and 7 to the west coast of Tamil Nadu. A total of 15 species representing 12 genera, 10 families, 8 orders and 5 Classes were recorded namely Holothuria atra, H. difficilis, H. leucospilota, Actinopyga mauritiana, Linckia laevigata, Temnopleurus toreumaticus, Salmacis bicolor, Echinothrix diadema, Stomopneustes variolaris, Macrophiothrix nereidina, Tropiometra carinata, Linckia multifora, Fromia milleporella and Ophiocoma scolopendrina. Among these, the last three are new records to the west coast of India.
    [Show full text]
  • Key to the Common Shallow-Water Brittle Stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228496999 Key to the common shallow-water brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea Article · January 2007 CITATIONS READS 10 702 1 author: Christopher Pomory University of West Florida 34 PUBLICATIONS 303 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Christopher Pomory on 21 May 2014. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately. 1 Key to the common shallow-water brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea CHRISTOPHER M. POMORY 2007 Department of Biology, University of West Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514, USA. [email protected] ABSTRACT A key is given for 85 species of ophiuroids from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea covering a depth range from the intertidal down to 30 m. Figures highlighting important anatomical features associated with couplets in the key are provided. 2 INTRODUCTION The Caribbean region is one of the major coral reef zoogeographic provinces and a region of intensive human use of marine resources for tourism and fisheries (Aide and Grau, 2004). With the world-wide decline of coral reefs, and deterioration of shallow-water marine habitats in general, ecological and biodiversity studies have become more important than ever before (Bellwood et al., 2004). Ecological and biodiversity studies require identification of collected specimens, often by biologists not specializing in taxonomy, and therefore identification guides easily accessible to a diversity of biologists are necessary.
    [Show full text]