Strongylocentrotus fragilis explained

Strongylocentrotus fragilis is a species of sea urchin of the family Strongylocentrotidae.

Description and characteristics

This is a regular sea urchin, with a spherical test bearing the anus and top and mouth on the bottom. They are somewhat flattened, and of pale pinkish color with white spines. It is a deep-sea species, and they can occur in great number where food is abundant.

Habitat and range

This is an abyssal species, occurring at many hundred meters deep on the western coasts of the North America.^[1] They are distributed throughout the continental shelf and slope, being most abundant in the 200-300m depth range.^{[2] [3]}

Taxonomy

It was first scientifically described in 1912 by Jackson.^[4]

This species is often referred as Allocentrotus fragilis, and its taxonomy is still under debate.^[1]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Allocentrotus fragilis . Andreas Kroh & Andrew Smith . Echinoid Directory (Natural History Museum) .
2. Sato . Kirk . Kevin . Lisa . Schiff . Kenneth . Habitat compression and expansion of sea urchins in response to changing climate conditions on the California continental shelf and slope (1994–2013) . Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography . March 2017 . 137 . 377–389 .
3. Sato . Kirk . Powell . Jackson . Rudie . Dave . Levin . Lisa . Evaluating the promise and pitfalls of a potential climate change–tolerant sea urchin fishery in southern California . ICES Journal of Marine Science . May 2018 . 75 . 1029–1041 .
4. Kroh, A. (2010). Strongylocentrotus fragilis (Jackson, 1912). In: Kroh, A. & Mooi, R. (2010) World Echinoidea Database. at the World Register of Marine Species.