Echinometra lucunter subsp. lucunter (Linnaeus 1758) lucunter (Linnaeus 1758
- Dataset
- The Echinoderm Fauna of the Azores (NE Atlantic Ocean)
- Rank
- SUBSPECIES
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Echinodermata
- class
- Echinoidea
- order
- Camarodonta
- family
- Echinometridae
- genus
- Echinometra
materials_examined
Reports for the Azores:
materials_examined
See: Mortensen (1943 a: 357 – 368, figs. 172 – 175, pl. 41, figs. 1 – 5, pl. 42, figs. 12 – 14, pl. 43, figs. 1 – 13, pl. 44, fig. 9, pl. 64, figs. 17, 20 – 24); Pawson (1978: 20 – 23, figs. 8 – 10). Occurrence: Atlantic, from North Carolina and Bermuda, southwards to Brazil (Mortensen 1943 a, Schultz 2006), and eastwards from Cape Verde to Angola (H. L. Clark 1925, Mortensen 1936); the subspecies E. lucunter polypora is restricted to Ascension and St. Helena islands (Pawson 1978). Depth: 0 – 45 m (Mortensen 1943 a). Habitat: hard substrates (bioeroder; Mortensen 1943 a). Larval stage: planktotrophic (Mortensen 1921). Fossil record: Ericichnus bromleyi, a relatively recent described ichnospecies portraying groove-borings found in a Pliocene fossiliferous outcrop in Malbusca (Santa Maria Island) is thought to be made by the sea urchin Echinometra lucunter (see Santos et al. 2015). Commercial value: edible (Lawrence 2007). Remarks: Agassiz (1872) listed the Azores under the geographical range of Echinometra lucunter (under the name Echinometra subangularis), which is clearly a misprint. The author never mentioned the archipelago again, whether listing the examined specimens’ locations or discussing the distribution range for this species. This tropical species does not occur in the present-day shallow waters of the Azores and no specimens were ever reported from the area.