List of echinoderms of Sri Lanka explained

Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated close to the southern tip of India. The invertebrate fauna is as large as it is common to other regions of the world. So it is complicated to summarize the exact number of species found within the country.

Echinoderms belong to the phylum Echinodermata. They are deuterostomes that are closely related to chordates. Echinoderms are characterized by having a water vascular system, tube feet, radial symmetry, and undergo complete regeneration from a single limb. It is the largest phylum that has no freshwater or terrestrial members. There are five classes of echinoderms: Asteroidea (starfish), Ophiuroidea (brittle star), Echinoidea (sea urchin), Crinoidea (sea lily) and Holothuroidea (sea cucumber).

The following list provides echinoderms currently identified in Sri Lankan waters.

Sea Urchins

The first detailed work on irregular echinoids was carried out by Agassiz in 1872 and then by Clark & Rowe in 1971 where they compiled records of 24 species of irregular sea urchins in the "Ceylon area". However, some of these localities now belong to the Indian Territory. In 2017, a recent species list has been made by Arachchige et al., where he described 27 irregular echinoids from Sri Lankan waters.[1] The information on regular echinoids was listed by Agassiz & Desor in 1846 which continued to advance until the end of the 19th century. Then, there was a knowledge gap between the mid-20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries mainly due to a lack of systematic studies. However, in the latter part, two checklists have been published by the IUCN Red List in 2006 and 2012.[2]

Currently, in Sri Lanka, there are 39 regular echinoids belong to 28 genera, nine families, and five orders are recorded. Meanwhile, there are 21 irregular echinoid species belong to four orders, nine families, and 15 genera in Sri Lanka.

Irregular echinoids

Family: Echinolampadidae - Cassiduloids

Order: Clypeasteroida - Sand dollars

Order: Spatangoida - Heart urchins

Regular echinoids

Starfish

The exact number of starfish in Sri Lankan waters is unknown. Many works came through the work done based on Indian echinoderms in and around Indian seas.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Brittle stars

There is little works have done to identify the brittle star species around Sri Lanka. But, further detailed work is necessary to compile a checklist.[9] [10]

Sea cucumber

The diversity of sea cucumbers of Sri Lanka show extensive research work.[11] Many species are edible and economically important, whereas some researches about sea cucumbers in the coastal waters of Sri Lanka have been documented.[12] [13] However, some species are extensively studied.[14] [15] [16] [17] The sea cucumber fishery was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Chinese particularly through the commodities taken to China for centuries.[18] Since 1980, sea cucumber fishery rapidly grown throughout north, east and northwestern Sri Lankan coast.[19] In 2010, D.C.T. Dissanayake and Gunnar Stefansson compiled a research on the abundance and distribution of commercial sea cucumber species in the coastal waters of Sri Lanka.[20] They described twenty-five sea cucumber species belonging to seven genera from east and northwest coasts of Sri Lanka.[21] Another research was carried out from May 2014 to June 2015 in Viyaparimuli and Munnai to identify the species composition and diversity of sea cucumber population in the Point Pedro coastal area of Jaffna peninsula.[22] In 2008, Dissanayaka and Athukorala recorded 24 sea cucumber species from Northwestern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka, and then in 2014, Kuganathan has reported sixteen species of sea cucumbers in the Jaffna estuary.[23] [24] In 2017, the status of holothurian fisheries in Mullaitivu coastal waters in the North-East region of Sri Lanka was documented.[25] In 2020, a new sea cucumber record was identified from nearby waters.[26] Apart from that, leading scientist D.C.T. Dissanayake has done extensive work on sea cucumbers.[27] [28] [29]

Sea lilies

Researches on sea lily or feather star diversity of Sri Lankan waters have been very limited when compared with other echinoderm classes.[32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The irregular echinoids of Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . Proceedings of Wayamba University Research Congress 2017.
  2. Arachchige. Gayashan M.. Jayakody. Sevvandi. Sevvandi Jayakody. Mooi. Rich. Kroh. Andreas. 2019-03-25. An annotated species list of regular echinoids from Sri Lanka with notes on some rarely seen temnopleurids. Zootaxa. 4571. 1. 35. 10.11646/zootaxa.4571.1.3. 6910863. 31715829. 2021-08-23.
  3. Web site: A Biodiversity Status Profile of Sub-tidal and Inter-tidal Habitats of the Rekawa, Ussangoda and Kalametiya Area . 2021-08-23 . IUCN . Occasional Papers of IUCN Occasional Papers of IUCN Sri Lanka Sri Lanka No: 5, March 2004 . 35.
  4. Notes on the family Goniasteridae (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from the Indian seas . 2021-08-23 . J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. India . 1996 . 38 . 1–2 . 133–138.
  5. Asteroidea of the Anambas expedition 2002 . 2021-08-23 . The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology . 2004.
  6. Web site: The occurrence of the genus Heteronardoa (Asteroidea: Ophidiasteridae) in the Indian Ocean, with the description of a new species . 2021-08-23 . Records of the Western Australian Museum, 1976.
  7. A Revision of the Family Astropectinidae (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from Taiwan, with Description of Five New Records . 2021-08-23 . Zoological Studies . 38 . 3 . 257–267 . 1999.
  8. Phylum EcMmodermata-A source for biologically active compounds: A Review. 2021-08-23 . The Pharmaceutical Journal of Sri Lanka . 1999.
  9. Brittle stars of Ophiodermatidae and Ophiolepididae (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea: Ophiurida: Ophiurina) collected from the Singapore Strait . 2021-08-23 . Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement . 34 . 619–626.
  10. Roy . M. S. . Sponer . R. . 2002-05-22 . Evidence of a human–mediated invasion of the tropical western Atlantic by the 'world's most common brittlestar' . Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences . 269 . 1495 . 1017–1023 . 10.1098/rspb.2002.1977 . 1690993 . 12028758.
  11. Web site: Management of Sea Cucumber Fishery in Sri Lanka, Sustainable Utilization and Value Addition . 2021-08-23 . researchgate.
  12. Gamage . Lalith Kumara Thiththagalle . Thushari . Gajahin Gamage Nadeeka . Atapaththu . Keerthi Sri Senevirathna . Kondaramage . Rasika Sampath Kumara Hewa . Senevirathna . Jayan Duminda Mahesh . 2021-08-11 . Diversity, Length-Weight Relations, and Condition Factor of Sea Cucumbers in Three Coastal Areas Along the Southern Coast of Sri Lanka: A Case Study . 2021-08-23 . Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences . 21 . 12 . 575–588 . 10.4194/1303-2712-v21_12_01. free .
  13. Dissanayake . Dct . Wijeyaratne . Mjs . 2010-08-13 . Studies on the sea cucumber fishery in the North Western coastal region of Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . Sri Lanka Journal of Aquatic Sciences . 12 . 19–38 . 10.4038/sljas.v12i0.2212. free .
  14. Web site: Abundance, distribution and some biological aspects of Holothuria edulis in the North Western coastal waters of Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . CENARA.
  15. DISSANAYAKE . D. C. T. . STEFANSSON . G. . 2010-09-01 . Reproductive biology of the commercial sea cucumber Holothuria atra (Holothuroidea: Aspidochirotida) in the northwestern coastal waters of Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . Invertebrate Reproduction & Development . 54 . 2 . 65–76 . 10.1080/07924259.2010.9652318. 83903619 .
  16. Reichenbach . Norman . Nishar . Yoosuf . Saeed . Ahamed . 1996 . Species and Size-Related Trends in Asexual Propagation of Commercially Important Species of Tropical Sea Cucumbers (Holothuroidea) . 2021-08-23 . Journal of the World Aquaculture Society . 27 . 4 . 475–482 . en . 10.1111/j.1749-7345.1996.tb00632.x.
  17. Book: 2001-01-01 . The sea cucumber Holothuria scabra (Holothuroidea: Echinodermata): Its biology and exploitation as Beche-de-mer . https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0065288101410030 . 2021-08-23 . 129–223 . en . 10.1016/S0065-2881(01)41003-0. Advances in Marine Biology Volume 41 . Advances in Marine Biology . Hamel . Jean-François . Conand . Chantal . Pawson . David L. . Mercier . Annie . 41 . 9780120261413 .
  18. Prasada . D.V.P. . October 2020 . Assessing the potential for closure rules in the Sri Lankan sea cucumber fishery: Empirical models of practices and preferences of fishers . 2021-08-23 . Marine Policy . 120 . 104130 . en . 10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104130. 224942189 .
  19. Gamage . Lalith Kumara Thiththagalle . Thushari . Gajahin Gamage Nadeeka . Atapaththu . Keerthi Sri Senevirathna . Kondaramage . Rasika Sampath Kumara Hewa . Senevirathna . Jayan Duminda Mahesh . 2021-08-11 . Diversity, Length-Weight Relations, and Condition Factor of Sea Cucumbers in Three Coastal Areas Along the Southern Coast of Sri Lanka: A Case Study . 2021-08-23 . Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences . 21 . 12 . 575–588 . 10.4194/1303-2712-v21_12_01. free .
  20. Web site: Shallow-water Sea Cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) in Sarangani Bay, Mindanao, Philippines with Notes on Their Relative Abundance . 2021-08-23 . Philippine Journal of Science 147 (3): 453-461, September 2018.
  21. Dissanayake . D. C.T. . Stefansson . Gunnar . July 2010 . Abundance and distribution of commercial sea cucumber species in the coastal waters of Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . Aquatic Living Resources . 23 . 3 . 303–313 . 10.1051/alr/2010031. free .
  22. Veronika . K. . Edrisinghe . U. . Sivashanthini . K. . Athauda . A. R. S. B. . 2016-07-04 . Abundance and diversity of sea cucumbers in point pedro coastal waters in Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . Tropical Agricultural Research . 27 . 2 . 182 . 10.4038/tar.v27i2.8166. free .
  23. Web site: Present status of the sea cucumber fishery in Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . SPC Beche-de-mer Information Bulletin #30 – March 2010.
  24. Web site: Potential for sea cucumber culture in the Jaffna lagoon . 2021-08-23 . www.mangrovesforthefuture.org . en.
  25. Veronika . K. . Edrisinghe . U. . Sivashanthini . K. . Athauda . A. R. S. B. . 2017-06-26 . Present status of holothurian fisheries in mullaitivu coastal waters in North-East region of Sri Lanka . Tropical Agricultural Research . 28 . 3 . 216 . 10.4038/tar.v28i3.8226. free .
  26. Web site: First Record of Lamperts' Sea Cucumber (Synaptula Lamperti) in Northern Coast, Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . Conference: International Conference on Multidisiplinary Research -2020.
  27. Dissanayake . D.C.T. . Stefansson . G. . May 2012 . Habitat preference of sea cucumbers: Holothuria atra and Holothuria edulis in the coastal waters of Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom . 92 . 3 . 581–590 . en . 10.1017/S0025315411000051. 88436124 .
  28. Web site: DVP Prasada and DCT Dissanayaka, 2020. Ecology, Economics, and Management of Sea cucumber Fishery in Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . South Asian Network of Development and Environmental Economics (ICIMOD).
  29. Nishanthan . Ganeshan . Kumara . Ajith . Prasada . Pahan . Dissanayake . Chamari . 2019 . Sea cucumber fishing pattern and the socio-economic characteristics of fisher communities in Sri Lanka . 2021-08-23 . Aquatic Living Resources . 32 . 12 . 10.1051/alr/2019009. 182474934 .
  30. Web site: Market value of flower teatfish ('Pentard'): a highly exploited Indian Ocean holothuroid . 2021-08-23 . SPC Beche-de-mer Information Bulletin #37 – March 2017.
  31. Soliman . Taha . Reimer . James D. . Kawamura . Iori . van der Meij . Sancia E. T. . Reijnen . Bastian T. . Paulay . Gustav . February 2019 . Description of the juvenile form of the sea cucumber Thelenota anax H. L. Clark, 1921 . 2021-08-23 . Marine Biodiversity . 49 . 547–554 . en . 10.1007/s12526-017-0820-2. 37203810 .
  32. New Record of five Feather stars (Class: Crinoidea) from Andaman and Nicobar Islands . 10.1.1.1049.7227.
  33. Extant Crinoidea (Echinodermata) of Singapore . 2021-08-23 . Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement . 34 . 627–658.
  34. Web site: Feather stars (Crinoidea, Comatulida) of Nhatrang Bay, Vietnam: fauna, habitat and symbionts . 2021-08-23 . sevin.ru.
  35. Web site: An annotated checklist and key to the Crinoidea of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands . 2021-08-23 . Micronesica 35-36:523-546. 2003.
  36. Mekhova . Elena . T.A. Britayev . 2013 . Feather stars (Crinoidea, Comatulida) of Nhatrang Bay, Vietnam: fauna, habitat and symbionts. E.S. Mekhova, T.A. Britayev . 2021-08-23 . en . 10.13140/2.1.4306.4325.
  37. First report of feather star Tropiometra carinata (Lamarck, 1816) . 2021-08-23 . Rec. Zool. Surv. India . 115 . Part 4 . 357–360 . 2015.
  38. Mohammednowshad . B. . Idreesbabu . K.K. . Parameswaran . Usha V. . Messing . Charles G. . Sureshkumar . S. . 2020-06-08 . The Shallow-water Crinoid Fauna of Lakshadweep Atolls, North-western Indian Ocean . 2021-08-23 . Zootaxa . 4789 . 1 . 247–265 . 10.11646/zootaxa.4789.1.9. 33056451 . 222828673 .
  39. Kogo . Ichizo . Fujita . Toshihiko . Kubodera . Tsunemi . 2019-11-25 . Shallow-water Comatulids (Echinodermata: Crinoidea) from Ambon and Lombok Islands, Indonesia . 2021-08-23 . Species Diversity . 24 . 2 . 229–246 . en . 10.12782/specdiv.24.229. 213097129 . free .

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