INDIAN OCEAN ECHINODERMS 



81 



DISCUSSION 



Echinoderm collections from the Sindbad Voyage have yielded at 

 least 44 species of ophiuroids and 1 1 species of echinoids. Species 

 totals for each area sampled, with the corresponding zoogeographic 

 subdivision used by Clark & Rowe (1971), are given in Table 2. 

 Despite the small size of Pula We (c 20 km x 12 km), 32 ophiuroids 

 and 7 echinoids (71% of all species recorded) were encountered at, 

 although not necessarily restricted to, this island. This high species 

 richness is partly a reflection of the sampling intensity in Pula We, 

 but is equally or more an indication of high biodiversity known for 

 coral reefs in the SE Asia region (Sheppard, 1987; Wells & Price, 

 1992). 



Of the ophiuroids collected, O (A.) purpurea and O. trilineata 

 were the most common, occurring in more than 20% of the ophiuroid 



Table 2. Ophiuroid and echinoid species numbers for each area of the 

 Indian Ocean sampled during the Sindbad Voyage, (total ophiuroid 

 species recorded for all regions = 44 ; total echinoid species recorded 

 for all regions =11) 



Sampling area and equivalent 

 zoogeographic subdivision 



No. of species recorded 

 OPHIUROIDS ECHINOIDS 



Oman (SE Arabia) 



2 



4 



S India (W. India & Pakistan) 



1 







Laccadive (Maldive area) 



7 



1 



Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka area) 



7 



I 



Sumatra (Indonesia / East Indies) 



31 



7 



Of the 44 ophiuroid species collected, ten result in new area 

 records (Table 3), as follows: W India (Amphioplus (Lymanella) 

 sp.); Sri Lanka (Ophiactis modesta, Ophiarachna robillardi, 

 Ophiodyscrita instratus); Maldives area (Cryptopelta granulifera, 

 Ophiochaeta hirsuta); and Indonesia / East Indies (Amphiura 

 (Amphiura) dejectoides, Amphiura (Amphiura) micra, Amphioplus 

 (A.) stenaspis, Ophiogymna pellicula). 



Table 3. New area records and previously known distribution of 

 ophiuroid species recorded in the Indian Ocean during the Sindbad 

 Voyage 



Species 



New area record Previously known distribution 



Amphiura Indonesia/East 



(Amphiura) Indies 



dejectoides 



Amphiura Indonesia/East 



(Amphiura) micra Indies 



Amphioplus (A. ) Indonesia/East 



stenaspis Indies 



Amphioplus West India 



(Lymanella) sp. (Beypore) 



Ophiactis modesta Sri Lanka 



Ophiogymna 



pellicula 

 Cryptopelta 



granulifera 

 Ophiarachna 



robillardi 

 Ophiochaeta 



hirsuta 



Ophiodyscrita 

 instratus 



Indonesia/East 



Indies 

 Maldives 



Sri Lanka 



Maldives 



Sri Lanka 



Red Sea; E. Africa (Madagascar) 



N. Australia and possibly E. Africa/ 



Madagascar 

 N. Australia and possibly E. Africa/ 



Madagascar 

 A. (L.) andreae from Indonesia/ 



East Indies, and A. (L.) laevis from 



Indo-West Pacific 

 W. India & Pakistan, and eastwards 



from Bay of Bengal to Hawaiian 



Is. but not Philippines, and 



possibly also E.Africa/Madagascar 

 Bay of Bengal and N. Australia 



Mascarene Is. (Mauritius, Reunion, 

 Rodrigues group) and N. Australia 

 Mascarene Is. 



Is. of W. Indian Ocean, Indonesia/ 

 East Indies, N. Australia and S. 

 Pacific Is. 



Japan and New Caledonia 

 (SW Pacific) 



samples. These species also occupied a wide range of substrata and 

 depths (2-30m). Other species occurred in less than 10% of the 

 ophiuroid samples, and generally occupied fewer habitats and a 

 narrower depth range. The echinoid fauna was less diverse, although 

 some species were very common, in particular D. setosum, E. 

 calamaris and E. molaris (a coral rock borer), which occurred in 

 36%, 19% and 14 % of the echinoid samples respectively. These 

 echinoids were found in a wide range of habitats and depths, up to 40 

 m in the case of E. molaris. A more comprehensive ecological 

 analysis of echinoderms of Pula We, Sumatra is to be undertaken 

 following completion of the taxonomic appraisal of the crinoids. 



Acknowledgements. We wish to thank the staff at the Natural History 

 Museum, London, for access to the collections and other facilities. We are 

 grateful of Dr R. Dalley, P. Hunnam, P. Dobbs and D. Tattle for their 

 considerable assistance during field work. One of us (A.R.G.P.) would also 

 like to thank T. Severin, leader of the Sindbad Voyage, for the kind invitation 

 to participate in the expedition which was made possible by generous support 

 from the Ministry of Natural Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman. 

 Thanks are due to L. Marsh for identifying several ophiuroids. Financial 

 assistance to A.R.G.P. from the Leverhulme Trust is gratefully acknowl- 

 edged. 



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