The cucumariid holothurians of southern Africa with the erection of a new genus

The southern African dendrochirotid holothurians of the family Cucumariidae (sensu Pawson & Fell, 1965) are revised and a new genus Pseudoaslia is erected to accommodate Cucumaria tetracentriophora Heding, 1938, which possesses a combination of slender forked rods and four-holed knobbed buttons as body wall deposits. In addition, Pentacta squamosa Cherbonnier, 1970 is declared a synonym of Ocnus capensis (Théel, 1886); Cucumaria rigidapeda   Cherbonnier, 1952 and C. corbula Cherbonnier, 1953 are referred respectively to the genera Trachythyone and Ocnus;and Pseudocotochirus violaceus Théel, 1886 and a specimen tentatively referred to as Trachythyone parva (Ludwig, 1875) are recorded for the first time from southern Africa. These changes result in the total number of cucumariid holothurians now known from southern Africa to 10 genera and 18 species. All species are keyed, briefly described and/or discussed, and their local distributions mapped

Zoogeography of the southern African echinoderm fauna

Pertinent features of the oceanography of southern Africa are reviewed and an analysis of the echinoderm fauna in relation to the general biogeographic regions and local faunistic provinces is given. The last such analysis appeared in 1923, based on fewer species (216) and long before Stephenson's comprehensive analysis of the distribution of the southern African marine biota. Over 400 species of echinoderms are currently known from southern African waters, south of the tropic of Capricorn. These comprise 17 crinoids, 99 asteroids, 124 ophiuroids, 59 echinoids and 108 holothuroids. The endemic component is the richest, accounting for at least 47% of the fauna, with the Indo-Pacific component, including those species restricted to the Indian Ocean, or specifically to the West Indian Ocean, making up 37% of the fauna. The remaining species are either cosmopolitan (3%), tropicopolitan (1 %), or shared with the Atlantic (6%) or Southern Oceans (2%), or are ‘Other Foreign’ species (4%). The distribution pattern along the coast supports the division of the southern African marine region into three faunistic provinces-tropical, subtropical and temperate. The echinoderm fauna appears to have had mostly an Indo-Pacific origin but evidence indicates that, once it became well established and isolated, there was a secondary development of an active evolutionary centre

The phyllophorid holothurians of southern Africa with the erection of a new genus

The southern African dendrochirotid holothurians of the family Phyllophoridae (sensu Pawson & Fell, 1965) are revised and a new genus Thyonina is erected to accommodate Thyone articulataVaney, 1908, which possesses only slender spectacle-shaped rods as body wall deposits. In addition, Thyone proceracorona Cherbonnier, 1952 and T. turrisolida Cherbonnier, 1954, are declared junior subjective synonyms of T. aurea (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833); Havelockia imperfecta Cherbonnier, 1970 is transferred to the genus Thyone, and T. venusta Selenka, 1868 (synonym T. okeni Bell, 1884) is recorded for the first time from southern Africa. These changes bring the total number of phyllophorid holothurians now known from southern Africa to five genera and 11 species. All species are keyed, briefly described and/or discussed, and their local distributions mapped

Towards an understanding of the shallow-water echinoderm biodiversity of KwaZulu-Natal, Republic of South Africa

Prior to this study, 130 shallow-water (i.e. less then 50 m deep) species of echinoderms were reported from the subtropical (26°S/32°E -30°S/30°E) east coast of South Africa. The Indo-Pacific and the endemic components of this fauna made up 93 % of the species, while the circumtropical, the Atlantic and the cosmopolitan components represented only 7% of the echinoderm fauna. A current study in the KwaZulu- Natal province has added some 39 % of new records (excluding the Crinoidea) to the echinoderm fauna of this province. Changing its endemic component from 26 to 21 %, the Indo-Pacific component from 68 to 73 % with the other components remaining more or less stable. Total echinoderm species distribution of KwaZulu-NataI was analyzed with the second Kulczynski coefficient, a measurement of similarity between two bioassociational areas. This analysis reveals that while the faunistic components of KwaZulu-Natal seem rather homogeneous, the area in the region of St. Lucia Bay appears to be characterized by a high species turn-over

Stolus kilberti, a new species from the east coast of South Africa (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea: Dendrochirotida) with a key to the genus Stolus Selenka

A new species of phyllophorid dendrochirotid, collected from subtidal waters off the east coast of South Africa, is described as Stolus kilberti sp. nov. in the subfamily Thyoninae. It is distinctive in the form of its calcareous ring and body wall plates in combination, and appears to be closely related to S. rapax (Koehler & Vaney, 1908) from the Bay of Bengal, differing from it in having elongated, rather than spherical multi-layered plates If the calcareous ring were not fragmented the species could well be referred to the genus Pseudothyone Panning, 1949 of the subfamily Sclerodactylinae, closely allied to P. mosaics (Koehler & Vaney, 1910) from the Persian Gulf. The remarkable similarity in the body wall deposits of genera currently classified in two separate subfamilies challenges the use of the calcareous ring to separate subfamilies, since it demands a degree of evolutionary convergence which hardly seems probable. Of the eleven nominal species of Stolus, eight are keyed and a table provided to compare the three similar species - S. kilberti, S. rapax and P. mosaica

Biodiversity studies on seaweeds and echinoderms in the transition between temperate southern Africa and the tropical western lndian Ocean

A three-year project bas increased by more than 30 % the number of seaweed and echinoderm species recorded off KwaZulu-Natal, and included some new to science? It demonstrates that we do not need to go to abyssal depths to make a significant and novel contribution to our knowledge of marine biodiversity

Using sea cucumbers to illustrate the basics of zoological nomenclature

In addition to a brief account of the need to have unique and unambiguous scientific names for taxa, this paper, annotated with examples of sea cucumbers, explains the basics of zoological nomenclature. In doing so it aims to reduce the confusion that exists among various breeds of end-users of taxonomists who may not fully understand the seemingly arbitrary and often volatile nature of scientific names. This paper also aims to provide teachers and students with a comprehensible account of the basic principles of zoological nomenclature

The sclerodactylid holothurians of southern Africa, with the erection of one new subfamily and two new genera (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)

The sclerodactylid subfamily Sclerodactylinae is restricted to include only those forms with a short, compact, tubular calcareous ring and a new subfamily Sclerothyoninae is diagnosed to accommodate two new southern African monotypic genera Sclerothyone and Temparena, with compact but non-tubular calcareous rings. The new genera are erected respectively for Ludwig and Heding's (1935) Cucumaria? velligera and C.? chuni,formerly classified in Pentamera. This brings the total number of sclerodactylid holothurians known from southern Africa to six genera and seven species. All taxa are diagnosed and/or described, a key is provided for all southern African species and their local distributions are mapped

A new southern African genus in the holothurian family Cucumariidae (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) with the recognition of two subspecies in Cucumaria frauenfeldi Ludwig

A new genus Roweia in the holothurian family Cucumariidae is erected to accommodate two southern African dendrochi-rotids, Cucumaria frauenfeldi Ludwig and C. stephensoni John which have previously always been classified in Cucumaria (si). Some intraspecific variations in R. frauenfeldi are discussed and, on this basis, the species is rediagnosed and two subspecies recognized. The species and subspecies of the new genus are keyed, their synonymy is considered and distributions mapped. New information in regard to R. stephensoni is also included

The holothuroid family Rhopalodinidae – its composition, distribution, phylogeny and taxonomic status

The holothuroid family Rhopalodinidae currently contains three genera and 16 species, all restricted in their distribution to the East Atlantic Ocean from Senegal to the Cape of Good Hope. Their peculiar morphology is discussed and new  information is presented on the southern African forms. A key for the identification of the 16 known species is provided. It is suggested that the appearance of the proboscis was probably a response to the shallow turbulent waters of the tropical East Atlantic. Because of the polytentaculate nature of most species, the branched nature of the tentacles of some species, the shape of the calcareous ring, the ambulacral restriction of the pedicels and the form of the body wall tables, the Rhopalodinidae could well be classified within the Dendrochirotida, close to the Phyllophorinae. However, this point of view is not  supported by recent work based on analysis of rDNA and numerous morphological characters. According to this analysis Rhopalodinidae should be included within the Dactylochirotida.Key words: Echinodermata, Holothuroidea, Dactylochirotida, sea cucumbers, taxonomy