Samyn, Y.

Open Marine Archive

Taxonomy, systematics and faunistics of the Holothuroidea from the 
Western lndian Ocean 
1 Samyn Y 
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laboratorium voor Ecologie en Systematiek 
Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussel, Belgium 
E-mail: ysamyn @vub.ac. be 
Holothurians, the order of the Aspidochirotida in particular, are collected en masse in the littoral waters 
of the western lndian Ocean. As these unregulated practices result in plummeting stocks, there is an 
urgent need for appropriate conservation and management plans. However, the problems associated 
with insufficient, often wrong, taxonomical and systematical documentation, hamper comprehension of 
the structure, function, history and future of this important biological group. 
In depth sampling at iwo accessible regions (Kenya and KwaZuluNatal, Republic of South Africa) 
combined with literature surveys (with the help of the Flanders Marine Data and Information Centre) 
allows us to draw a clearer picture on today's holothurian biodiversity. 
As a natural outcome of our taxo-systematical work, we are beginning to find the answers to important 
biogeographical questions like 'How did the species of the western lndian Ocean get there?' 
However, although taxonomy and systematics help us to orden the wealth of different species into an 
usable system, a complete causal picture cannot be extracted from this work. As a consequence, our 
future research will be directed at ellucidatiag the ways of evolution (phylogeny) of the different taxa, both 
over time and space. 


Taxonomy, systematics and faunistics of the Holothuroidea from the Western Indian Ocean

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Open Marine Archive