Illustrated guide to the echinoid (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) fauna of South Africa

Abstract

The sea-urchins (class Echinoidea) of South Africa have received little taxonomic attention since the last comprehensive regional monographic guide, which was published in 1976 and is thus now severely outdated. That account was also poorly illustrated, making it difficult to use. Recent work by the authors has also added some 19 additional species to the known fauna, which now stands at 70 species. The aims of this study are thus to revise and update the South African echinoid fauna list, and to present a new, easy to use and fully-illustrated guide to all known regional species. The analysis is based mainly on examination of samples from the Iziko South African Museum collections, although additional records from other museum collections, the published literature, photographic images submitted to the EchinoMap Virtual Museum Database and any other reliable records are also included. A short account of each species is given, including relevant synonymy and literature, and brief notes on identification, size, and global distribution. Photographs that best represent the diagnostic features of each species and a map showing its known records within the region accompany each species account. A binary key to species is also provided.

Four notable additions to the South African echinoid fauna (Echinodermata, Echinoidea)

“…Presented here is new material from the Royal Museum for Central Africa, which was not known by the authors at the time (Filander and Griffiths 2014; Filander and Griffiths 2017). …”

“…Only one other species, Histocidariselegans (A. Agassiz, 1879), belonging to this genus has previously been reported in South African waters and this remains a dubious record, as it lacks locality data (Mortensen 1932; Filander and Griffiths 2017). Nonetheless, H.purpurata differs from H.elegans both in its distinctive coloration and shape of the primary spines.…”

“…The current record was not included in previous South African reviews (Filander and Griffiths 2014; Filander and Griffiths 2017) because these publications were based on Iziko South African Museum samples and online accessible samples. Presented here is new material from the Royal Museum for Central Africa, which was not known by the authors at the time (Filander and Griffiths 2014; Filander and Griffiths 2017).…”

“…The echinoid fauna of South Africa has recently been revised by Filander and Griffiths (2014), who added 19 species to the regional fauna, and by Filander and Griffiths (2017), who provided an identification key and a guide to each of the 70 species then known from the region. Since the publication of that review, four more remarkable additions to the echinoid fauna have been identified and are reported on here.…”

Intertidal estimates of sea urchin abundance reveal congruence in spatial structure for a guild of consumers

“…When there was a single observer on a shore, sea urchin abundance was surveyed over the entire vertical range of the intertidal zone. All observers have a similar level of taxonomic experience in detecting intertidal sea urchins (Fitzpatrick et al., 2009 ) and access to resources for species identification (Branch et al., 2010 ; Filander & Griffiths, 2017 ).…”