Francisco Alonso Solís-Marín

Echinoderm Research and Diversity in Latin America

Latin America (LA) includes all countries in the Americas that speak Spanish or Portuguese; in total it includes 22 countries including Mexico, Central America, the islands of the Caribbean and South America and Haiti (Hispaniola Island, shared with Dominican Republic). This book is divided in 16 chapters and two taxonomic lists with information about presence/absence, bathymetric range and the habitat or substrate where the species have been found. Fourteen chapters deal with studies done in countries, regions or islands. The final chapter has a biogeographical and diversity analysis of the two taxonomic lists. Each country chapter contains six sections. 1. An introduction. 2. A historic account of the investigations on echinoderms. 3. Distributional patterns and diversity. 4. Fishery or aquaculture activities. 5. Threats to echinoderms, and 6. A final section with general conclusions from the review and recommendations for future research to meet the needs of each country. Latin American echinoderm studies started a long time ago, as far back as the 13th century. The most common threats to echinoderms are bad coastal planning, coastal pollution, illegal fisheries, inefficient fisheries management, lack of protection, and lack of baseline studies. A total of 1,539 species (21.8 % of the worldwide species) are included in the taxonomic lists (appendix), with 717 species in the Pacific and 926 in the Caribbean and Atlantic. The richest class is Ophiuroidea followed by Asteroidea. All classes have more species in the Caribbean and Atlantic than the Pacific.

Echinoderm (Echinodermata) diversity in the Pacific coast of Central America

We present a systematic list of the echinoderms of Central America Pacific coast and offshore island, based on specimens of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., the Invertebrate Zoology and Geology collections of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, the Museo de Zoología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José and published accounts. A total of 287 echinoderm species are recorded, distributed in 162 genera, 73 families and 28 orders. Ophiuroidea (85) and Holothuroidea (68) are the most diverse classes, while Panama (253 species) and Costa Rica (107 species) have the highest species richness. Honduras and Guatemala show the highest species similarity, also being less rich. Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador y Nicaragua are represented by the most common nearshore species. Due to their coastal heterogeneity, Costa Rica and Panama are the richest places, with Panama also being the place where more research has been done. The current composition of echinoderms is the result of the sampling effort made in each country, recent political history and the coastal heterogeneity.

The Echinoderms of Mexico: Biodiversity, Distribution and Current State of Knowledge

Mexico is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet. Knowledge of echinoderm diversity in Mexico started in the XIX Century with Louis Agassiz in 1841. Currently, 643 species of echinoderms are known from Mexico, with Class Ophiuroidea the richest (197 species); Class Asteroidea follows with 185 species, then Class Echinoidea with 119 species, Class Holothuroidea with 113 species, and Class Crinoidea with 29 species. The Mexican deep sea has been little studied, and most expeditions covering this area have been made by institutions in other countries where a great amount of information is deposited but access to it can be difficult. It is necessary to have available catalogues of the Mexican echinoderms with information on their biology, ecology, distribution, and fisheries, in order to facilitate access to information, and promote further studies on the echinoderms of Mexico. Fossil echinoderms are present in the sedimentary basin of Mexico and thus have potential practical use as paleoecological indicators, complementing stratigraphic studies. Although taxonomic studies have resulted in a rather large species list, ecological, life history, and other studies are scarce. Studies on sea cucumber aquaculture in Mexico have not yet started, in spite of the high market value of these animals and their detritivorous habit which makes them attractive for cultivation. It is recommended that aquaculture studies be undertaken. These and other suggestions for advancement of the knowledge and sustainable utilization of echinoderms in Mexico are discussed in the present chapter.

Biological and taxonomic perspective of triterpenoid glycosides of sea cucumbers of the family Holothuriidae (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea).

Since the discovery of saponins in sea cucumbers, more than 150 triterpene glycosides have been described for the class Holothuroidea. The family Holothuriidae has been increasingly studied in search for these compounds. With many species awaiting recognition and formal description this family currently consists of five genera and the systematics at the species-level taxonomy is, however, not yet fully understood. We provide a bibliographic review of the triterpene glycosides that has been reported within the Holothuriidae and analyzed the relationship of certain compounds with the presence of Cuvierian tubules. We found 40 species belonging to four genera and 121 compounds. Holothurin A and B are the most common saponins for Actinopyga, Holothuria, and Pearsonothuria. The genus Bohadschia presents mainly bivittoside C and D. Actinopyga has only sulfated saponins mainly oxidized, Bohadschia non-sulfated ones mainly non-oxidized, Holothuria and Pearsonothuria contain both types of compounds, mainly oxidized. Within the genus Holothuria, the subgenus Panningothuria only has non-sulfated saponins. The presence of sulfated and non-sulfated compounds seemingly relates to the expellability or the absence of Cuvierian tubules and the temporal or permanent concealing habits of the species. Our study concludes that better insights into the systematic distribution of saponins in Holothuriidae will only be possible if the identifications of the investigated species are confirmed by a taxonomist, especially in this group wherein cryptic species and variation between life-history stages are common and yet poorly understood. Understanding of saponin distribution within the Holothuriidae would also benefit from a stabilization of triterpene glycoside nomenclature.

Identification of echinoderms (Echinodermata) from an anchialine cave in Cozumel Island, Mexico, using DNA barcodes

The echinoderm species richness of the Aerolito de Paraiso anchialine cave, on Cozumel Island, in the Mexican Caribbean, is assessed on the basis of morphological and DNA barcoding data. We included specimens from this cave system and from different open sea areas, and employed two different approaches for species delineation based on DNA barcoding data: a 2% cox1 divergence and the general mixed Yule‐coalescent (GMYC) approaches. We subsequently compared the results derived from these approaches with our morphospecies discrimination. A total of 188 cox1 sequences belonging to specimens of four echinoderm classes were examined. The 2% cox1 divergence and GMYC approaches recovered 78 and 70 putative species, respectively, 24 and 22 of which corresponded to specimens from the anchialine system. Of 26 echinoderm species identified in the cave system, seven appear to be endemic to it. Among these are Copidaster carvenicola Solís‐Marín & Laguarda‐Figueras, 2010, two morphologically distinctive, undescribed species belonging to Asterinides and Ophionereis and four probably cryptic undescribed species originally assigned to Amphipholis squamata (Delle Chiaje, 1839), Astropecten duplicatus Gray, 1840, Copidaster lymani (AH Clark, 1948) and Ophiothrix angulata (Say, 1825). Further research and protection of this particularly fragile ecosystem becomes urgent because construction of tourism developments is planned nearby.

Benthodytes violeta , a new species of a deep-sea holothuroid (Elasipodida: Psychropotidae) from Mar del Plata Canyon (south-western Atlantic Ocean)

A new species of elasipodid holothuroid, Benthodytes violeta sp. nov., is described from the Mar del Plata Canyon off Buenos Aires Province (around 38ºS-54ºW). It was taken at four locations at depths ranging from 1500 to 1950 m. This new species has a violet gelatinous body of up to 200 mm in length, with eight pairs of dorsal appendages, lateral festooned edges and four rows of tube feet ventrally. Body wall ossicles comprise rods and crosses with three or four arms and a central bipartite apophysis borne on the primary cross; tentacles and gonad deposits comprise rods and crosses with three and four arms. This is the first report of a holothuroid from the Mar del Plata Canyon area.

Echinoderms of Peru

Peru is situated in a peculiar geographical area where temperate waters coming from the south and tropical waters from the north meet, generating a diverse and dynamic ecological system. The Peruvian littoral possesses peculiar marine habitats, the product of many natural variables such as geology of its coast line, presence of a complex system of currents, existence of one of the most important upwelling systems in the world, the recurrent phenomenon of “El Nino”, and many others. This makes the ecological processes of the Peruvian territorial sea even more complex where marine species vary in abundance and distribution, creating one of the more productive marine areas of the world. Few taxonomic studies exist on Peruvian echinoderms. This fauna is represented by 215 species: Crinoidea (1 species), Asteroidea (64 species), Ophiuroidea (42 species), Echinoidea (35 species) and Holothuroidea (73 species). Seventeen species belong to the warm Temperate South Eastern Province and 64 to the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Seventy eight are deep water species. Twenty percent of the 84 shallow water species are temperate, 75 % are tropical and 5 % belong to both provinces. Historically echinoderms were of interest to Prehispanic Peruvian cultures, exploited and locally consumed by the Mochica (or Moche) culture or used on important offering rituals. Commercialization of echinoderms in Peru is recent and practically no protection measures are taken on its fishery. Even species that have been used for local consumption have been taken to the edge of collapse. The souvenir market is also part of the threats to Peruvian echinoderms. It is necessary to conduct more taxonomical and ecological studies in this area. It is important to generate more information about the density and other population parameters of echinoderms, including growth, reproduction, feeding and their relation with the biotic and abiotic environment. This information will be of great importance for developing strategies leading towards the sustainable production of echinoderms as a resource and their administration, as well as the search of alternatives to increase their production through aquaculture.

Scoliorhapis dianthus, a new species of sea cucumber (Apodida: Chiridotidae) from the Sea of Japan

Abstract Scoliorhapis dianthus, new species, was collected from depths of 0.20–1 m in the Sea of Japan. It is distinctive in having ten tentacles with six pairs of digits of equal size. Ossicles in the body wall have a sigmoid shape and average 75 ± 5 μm in length. An identification key to all species of the genus is provided.

Review of the genus Zygothuria Perrier, 1898 and the Atlantic group of species of the genus Mesothuria Ludwig, 1894 (Synallactidae: Holothuroidea) with description of the new species Mesothuria milleri sp. nov.

Species of the genus Mesothuria (fam. Synallactidae) occurring in the Atlantic Ocean are revised. The genus includes 25 valid species, nine of them known from the Atlantic. The new species Mesothuria milleri sp. nov. is described from the north-east Atlantic. It is argued that the genus Zygothuria, established by Perrier in 1898 and recognized later only by Deichmann, should be maintained as a separate genus. Mesothuria and Zygothuria differ in body form, arrangement of ambulacral appendages, and structure of segments of calcareous ring and ossicles from the body wall. The six known species of Zygothuria are reviewed. Zygothuria oxysclera, a former variation of Zygothuria lactea, is proposed as a valid species. Identification keys to species of the genus Zygothuria and Atlantic species of the genus Mesothuria are provided. Data on the life history and reproductive biology of Mesothuria milleri and Zygothuria lactea are given. Both species are common in the north-east Atlantic.

Two Lower Cretaceous (Albian) Fossil Holothurians (Echinodermata) from Tepexi De Rodriguez, Puebla, Mexico

Abstract Two new genera and species of well-preserved fossil holothurians are described from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) of Tepexi de Rodriguez, Puebla, central Mexico. Parapsolus tlayuensis is a psolid, and Paleopentacta alencasterae is a cucumariid. Paleopentacta alencasterae is the first complete holothurian fossil known to have two types of body wall ossicles preserved. The presence of the families Psolidae and Cucumariidae suggests that the local habitat was a hard substrate. The two holothurian species described here are interpreted as shallow water-suspension feeding species.