First Record of Sea Urchin Salmaciella oligopora (H.L. Clark, 1916) (Echinoidea; Camarodonta; Temnopleuridae) from India : its Structural and Molecular Analysis

Özet

Salmaciella oligopora (Clark,1916), a rare sea urchin species which was initially described as Genus Salmacis fromTasmanian coast, Australia in 1916 was later recorded in the Philippines Archipelago in 2015. Till date there is no report onoccurrence of S.oligopora in Indian waters. This paper reports the distribution of temnopleurid sea urchin S.oligopora for thefirst time between Chennai and Pondicherry Coasts, South East Coast of India. Echinoides were collected at depths of 20-30m by gill nets during April 2016 to December 2016. 4 specimens were identified as Salmaciella oligopora based onmorphological characteristics and molecular analysis using 18S rRNA sequencing. Salmaciella oligopora collected fromIndia was redescribed with photographs and compared with other species from GenBank based on molecular data throughnucleotide analysis in BLASTn (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool of nucleotide) and the result showed 99% similarity inGenbank sequences. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed close relationship to the Temnopleuridae family. This record extendsthe northern range of this species and indicates a wider but patchy distribution.