FAO Area FAO Sub-Area Country main references Western Indian Ocean (51) 51.1 Red sea Egypt lawrence et al., 2004; Ahmed and lawrence, 2007 Sudan – Eritrea tewelde and Jeudy de grissac, 2007; Kalaeb et al. 2008 Saudi Arabia – Israel – united Arab Emirates – 51.2 gulf djibouti – 51.3 Western Arabian Sea Oman Al-Rashdi, Al-busaidi and Al-Ramadi, 2007 Yemen – Iran IR tehranifard et al., 2006 51.4 Eastern Arabian sea Pakistan – India James, 1982, 1994b, 2001 Chagos Spalding, 2006 Maldives Reichenbach, 1999 51.5 Somalia Kenya tanzania Somalia lovatelli, 1995

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Population status, fisheries and trade of sea cucumbers in Africa and The Indian Ocean

Collections of echinoderms were made from the intertidal, lagoon and reef slopes of Rodrigues over a period of 3 weeks in September to October, 2001. A total of 74 species are reported here, including three species of Crinoidea, 10 species of Asteroidea, 17 species of Ophiuroidea, 15 species of Echinoidea and 29 species of Holothurioidea. These findings include 10 new records for the Mascarene Islands (Reunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues), four species (two in the asteroid genus ‘Asterina’, one in the ophiuroid genus Amphioplus and one species in the holothurioid genus Actinopyga) that remain unnamed due to the need to clarify unresolved taxonomic issues, and one species of crinoid which could not be identified because only the distal parts of four arms were collected. In the dendrochirotid holothurioid family Psolidae, the little-known species Psolus appendiculatus (de Blainville) 1821, P. boholensis Semper, 1868 and P. complanatus Semper, 1868 are referred to the genus Psolidium Ludwig, 1887. Despite its s...

A preliminary account of the shallow-water echinoderms of Rodrigues, Mauritius, western Indian Ocean

The study of the hol othuri an genu s S1ichopus from the Johore Marine Park (Malaysia) revealed at least six di ffe rent species, two being new to science: Stichopus ocellatus n. sp. and Stichopus rubermaculosus n. sp. Each species is fully described and illu strated. For the known species a li st of records and the geographic distribution are given. A seventh species , S1ichopus monoiUberculatus, not yet recorded from the Johore Marine Park, but likely to be found there, is included in an identificati on key based on ossicle characters, colour patterns and behaviour.

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The genus Stichopus (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) from the Johore Marine Park (Malaysia) with the description of two new species

Aim To analyse the zoogeography of the shallow-water holothuroids of the western Indian Ocean (WIO). Based on this analysis we ask to what extent differences in species’ ability to disperse across potential barriers provide an explanation for holothuroid zoogeography.



Location  Shallow-waters (50 m isobaths) of the WIO, extending from Suez to Cape Town and from the coastline of East Africa upward to 65° E.



Methods  Data for the analysis were obtained from Samyn's (2003) monograph on the shallow-water sea cucumbers of the WIO. A species presence/absence matrix with a resolution of 1° latitude/longitude was constructed. These cells were assigned to eight coarser operational geographical units, which were delimited on the basis of published faunistic and geological borders. The analytical zoogeographical methods employed were cluster analysis on several β-diversity coefficients and parsimony analyses of endemicity. The influence of life-history strategies on the distribution pattern was analysed through examination of latitudinal and longitudinal gradients, and by plotting cumulative curves for species number against range size.



Results  The shallow-water holothuroid fauna of the WIO can be split into several biogeographical units. To the north, we found evidence that the northern Red Sea holothuroid fauna differs from that of the southern Red Sea. The latter has closest affinity with south-east Arabia and the Persian Gulf, and thus the biogeographical barrier of Bab-el-Mandab nowadays seems to be of minor importance. The cold upwelling at the east coast of Somalia forms an effective barrier for holothuroids and especially those with lecitothrophic (short-lived) larvae. Even though the circumtropical biogeographical pattern is not well resolved, important taxonomic turnovers suggest that it is composed of several distinct subprovinces. Taxonomic turnover is at least partially dictated by the dispersion capacity of the different orders.



Main conclusions  This study concludes that the WIO is best split into at least three biogeographical realms: (1) the Red Sea and associated Arab Basin, (2) the asymmetrical circumtropical region stretching from the horn of Africa to southern Mozambique, and (3) southern Africa. Conspicuous differences in dispersal abilities of the three dominant orders are identified. The biogeography of the WIO is best explained by: (1) species’ dispersion ability, (2) the prevalent current patterns, and (3) to a lesser, geographically limited extent, recent geological history. As a serendipitous discovery, we found that Rapoport's rule does not hold in the WIO.

Zoogeography of the shallow-water holothuroids of the western Indian Ocean

Taxonomy of the heavily exploited Indo-Pacific sandfish complex (Echinodermata: Holothuriidae)

The echinoderm fauna of the Kiunga Marine National Reserve, Kenya, is documented, based on the results of a field trip, and additional information from the literature. In this first paper, the Holothuroidea and Echinoidea are discussed. A total of 91 specimens representing eight orders, 13 families, 19 genera and 37 species were collected. Five other species were not collected but were identified in the field. Six additional species are reported from literature only and are not discussed. Diagnostic characters of every species recorded are given, as well as an assessment of their abundance in the Kiunga Marine Reserve. Clypeaster rarispinus, Phyllacanthus imperialis, Microcyphus rousseaui (Echinoidea), Holothuria (Cystipus) rigida, Holothuria (Platyperona) difficilis, Labidodemas pertinax, Stichopus chloronotus and Stichopus cf. monotuberculatus (Holothuroidea) are new records for Kenya. Holothuria (Theelothuria) turriscelsa is a new record for the Indian Ocean. This study stresses the importance...

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E. Vanden Berghe

Papers

Annotated Checklist of the Echinoderms From the Kiunga Marine National Reserve, Kenya. Part I: Echinoidea and Holothuroidea