MOOT & MUNGUIA: SEA URCHINS OF THE PHILIPPINES 
215 
Figure 1. Echinometra mathaei in the Verde Island Passage. A. Live adult speeimen extraeted from its burrow. B. Live 
juvenile inhabiting a dead bamaele shell. C. Adults in burrows and ehannels in coral rock caused by chewing action of the 
Aristotle’s lantern and spine abrasion. D. Large coral boulder being deeply channeled and eroded by feeding activities of 
Echinometra. Scale bars 10 mm long. 
om plates are not tightly sutured together. These animals protect their thin, soft test with venomous 
spines. Although the vast majority of echinothurioids are deep-sea (Mooi et al. 2004) and almost 
never encountered by laypersons, shallow water echinothurioid taxa such as Asthenosoma can be 
common in coral reefs, and are known as “fire urchins”. Diadematids have long, very sharp pri¬ 
mary spines that, although not themselves venomous, can cause injury to unwary swimmers or 
divers that brush up against them. Because diadematids occur in large numbers in some areas, the 
potential for multiple injuries can be high. Most divers never encounter the layer of shorter, ven¬ 
omous spines known to occur in diadematids because they never get beyond the initial pain of the 
longer spines. However, some diadematids such as Echinothrix also bear well-exposed, venomous 
spines. In contrast, the so-called “flower urchin” {Toxopneustes) can deliver powerful stings not 
through its spines, but with its greatly enlarged pedicellariae (Fig. 2). 
A LIST OF Philippine species of Echinoidea 
The ecological importance of and general interest in echinoids of the Philippines are rooted in 
the biology summarized above, as well as in their diversity. Here, we develop a comprehensive list 
of all sea urchin species known from the Philippines. These efforts should provide a reliable base¬ 
line for future, comparative analyses of echinoid biodiversity within the Philippines and indeed. 
