Ophiomyxa tumida and Ophiogeron supinus, from the subfamily Ophiomyxinae;
and Ophiobyrsa serpens, from the subfamily Ophiobyrsidae, were collected at
several Caribbean locations. Ophiomyxa flaccida was collected using SCUBA in
Belize, Panamá and Bahamas Islands at depths between 5-25 m. Ophiobyrsa
serpens was collected at a depth of 24 m on the Belize Barrier Reef. Ophiomyxa
tumida and O. supinus were collected with the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible in
the Bahamas Islands at depths between 300–600 m. Their analyses showed that the
arms of O. supinus were largely feltwork connective tissue fibers with the
predominance of interfibrillar matrix, while the arm integument of O. flaccida,
O. tumida and O. serpens was composed of a thin layer of feltwork connective
tissue and a thick layer of fibrillar connective tissue. The authors’ observations on
the locomotion behavior and morphology of the ophiomyxid brittlestar argued
against the sedentary nature of Paleozoic ophiuroids. They noted that limited arm
mobility, rather than integumentary structure, is evidence of functional similarity
between O.supinus and some Paleozoic ophiuroids. They suggestsed Paleozoic
ophiuroids may have been epifaunal forms with a pattern of locomotion more like
some recent astropectinid asteroids than amphiurid ophiuroids.
3.3 Diversity and Distribution
Maluf (1988a, b) synthesized echinoderm distribution and composition from
California to Peru. She reported 630 species, and peaks of richness in the Gulf of
California, Panama and the Galapagos Archipelago. The last two are places
involved a high sampling effort. Then Maluf (1988b) compared species similarity
and found that CA, from Guatemala to Costa Rica, is a separate unit. She also
indicated that the zone between Panama and Costa Rica possess a high degree of
endemism and is a transition point, while Panama, Colombia and Ecuador had a
greater affinity.
Alvarado and Cortés (2004) considered both the Caribbean and Pacific echinoderms of Central American. They found 315 species, with Panama and Costa
Rica having the greatest number of species. However, their calculations of similarity were done without any coast differentiation or discrimination of the presence
of the oceanic island, Cocos Island that belongs to Costa Rica. This fact prevents a
detailed evaluation of the richness of the Central American Pacific coast. In later
investigations, Alvarado et al. (2008), Miloslavich et al. (2010) and Alvarado
(2011) reported 253 species of echinoderm fauna for the Caribbean of CA,
including the Archipelago of San Andres and Providencia (Colombia). In comparisons with the other countries of the Caribbean, such as Costa Rica and Guatemala, they are the less diverse countries, but probably the CA coast is the least
studied (with the exceptions of Panama and Belize) (Alvarado 2011). For the
Pacific side of CA, Alvarado et al. (2010) reported 287 echinoderm species.
In this chapter, excluding Panama (Table 3.1, Appendix) we report a total of
416 species of echinoderms for both the Pacific and the Caribbean coast of CA.
92
J. J. Alvarado et al.
and Ophiobyrsa serpens, from the subfamily Ophiobyrsidae, were collected at
several Caribbean locations. Ophiomyxa flaccida was collected using SCUBA in
Belize, Panamá and Bahamas Islands at depths between 5-25 m. Ophiobyrsa
serpens was collected at a depth of 24 m on the Belize Barrier Reef. Ophiomyxa
tumida and O. supinus were collected with the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible in
the Bahamas Islands at depths between 300–600 m. Their analyses showed that the
arms of O. supinus were largely feltwork connective tissue fibers with the
predominance of interfibrillar matrix, while the arm integument of O. flaccida,
O. tumida and O. serpens was composed of a thin layer of feltwork connective
tissue and a thick layer of fibrillar connective tissue. The authors’ observations on
the locomotion behavior and morphology of the ophiomyxid brittlestar argued
against the sedentary nature of Paleozoic ophiuroids. They noted that limited arm
mobility, rather than integumentary structure, is evidence of functional similarity
between O.supinus and some Paleozoic ophiuroids. They suggestsed Paleozoic
ophiuroids may have been epifaunal forms with a pattern of locomotion more like
some recent astropectinid asteroids than amphiurid ophiuroids.
3.3 Diversity and Distribution
Maluf (1988a, b) synthesized echinoderm distribution and composition from
California to Peru. She reported 630 species, and peaks of richness in the Gulf of
California, Panama and the Galapagos Archipelago. The last two are places
involved a high sampling effort. Then Maluf (1988b) compared species similarity
and found that CA, from Guatemala to Costa Rica, is a separate unit. She also
indicated that the zone between Panama and Costa Rica possess a high degree of
endemism and is a transition point, while Panama, Colombia and Ecuador had a
greater affinity.
Alvarado and Cortés (2004) considered both the Caribbean and Pacific echinoderms of Central American. They found 315 species, with Panama and Costa
Rica having the greatest number of species. However, their calculations of similarity were done without any coast differentiation or discrimination of the presence
of the oceanic island, Cocos Island that belongs to Costa Rica. This fact prevents a
detailed evaluation of the richness of the Central American Pacific coast. In later
investigations, Alvarado et al. (2008), Miloslavich et al. (2010) and Alvarado
(2011) reported 253 species of echinoderm fauna for the Caribbean of CA,
including the Archipelago of San Andres and Providencia (Colombia). In comparisons with the other countries of the Caribbean, such as Costa Rica and Guatemala, they are the less diverse countries, but probably the CA coast is the least
studied (with the exceptions of Panama and Belize) (Alvarado 2011). For the
Pacific side of CA, Alvarado et al. (2010) reported 287 echinoderm species.
In this chapter, excluding Panama (Table 3.1, Appendix) we report a total of
416 species of echinoderms for both the Pacific and the Caribbean coast of CA.
92
J. J. Alvarado et al.