This book covers a large part of America, excluding only Canada, the United
States, the Lesser Antilles, Guyana, Surinam and French Guiana. For the latter two
countries and the French overseas territory, information on echinoderms is
available from the publications by Cherbonier (1959a, b, c, d, e), Walenkamp
(1976, 1979), Jangoux (1978) and Le Loeuff and Von Cosel (2000).
1.2 Echinoderm Research in LA: An Overview
Latin American echinoderm studies started in the 13th century. Bernardino de
Sahagún (1499–1590) a Spanish Franciscan friar who wrote about the Aztec
culture in Mexico (The General History of the Things of New Spain) before the
Spanish conquerors arrived in Central America (Florentine Codex). He describes
and explains ancient native religion, beliefs, practices, deities of the Aztecs. His
magnificent document was prepared in 12 books. Book number 11 describes the
‘‘Earthly Things’’ (properties of animals, birds, fish, trees, herbs, flowers, metals,
stones, and colors). In this volume he draws, describes and explains some invertebrate forms used by the Aztecs during their daily life, including some sea
urchins, starfish and probably sea cucumbers. This is probably the earliest record
of echinoderms in the Americas.
Louis Éconches Feuillée (1660–1732), a French member of the Order of the
Minims, was an explorer, geographer, and botanist who travelled to Chile,
Argentina and Peru on different expeditions from 1709 to 1711. He gave the first
echinoderm references for these Latin American countries. The first formal
taxonomic description of a Latin American echinoderm was made by the famous
naturalist Carl Nilsson Linnæus (1707–1778) in his 1758 publication of Systema
Naturae. In this classification of all living organisms, he formally described several
echinoderm species from Latin American coasts (i.e. Oreaster reticulatus,
Echinometra lucunter and Clypeaster rosaceus). Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de
Monet de Lamarck (1734–1829), a French naturalist and an early proponent of the
idea that evolution occurred and proceeded in accordance with natural laws,
published in 1816 one of his masterpieces, ‘‘Histoire Naturelle des Animaux sans
Vertébres’’. He reported new echinoderm species collected in LA. A contemporary
of Lamarck was the Chilean Juan Ignacio Molina (1740–1829) better known as
‘‘Abate Molina’’. In 1782 he published his work ‘‘Saggio sulla Storia Naturale del
Chile’’ where he described two new species of sea urchins from Chilean waters,
Echinus albus (=Loxechinus albus), and Tetrapygus niger.
Jean-Louis-Rodolphe Agassiz (1807–1873), a Swiss paleontologist, geologist
and a prominent zoologist, was a professor at Harvard University in the United
States. In several papers he described echinoid fauna from the LA. Rudolf
Amandus Philippi Krumwiede (1808–1904) was a German-Chilean paleontologist
and zoologist who described and published new and already known echinoderm
species from Chile. His most ‘‘famous’’ species is probably the sea urchin
Diadema antillarum, from the Caribbean, which he described in 1845. Theodore
4
J. J. Alvarado and F. A. Solís-Marín
States, the Lesser Antilles, Guyana, Surinam and French Guiana. For the latter two
countries and the French overseas territory, information on echinoderms is
available from the publications by Cherbonier (1959a, b, c, d, e), Walenkamp
(1976, 1979), Jangoux (1978) and Le Loeuff and Von Cosel (2000).
1.2 Echinoderm Research in LA: An Overview
Latin American echinoderm studies started in the 13th century. Bernardino de
Sahagún (1499–1590) a Spanish Franciscan friar who wrote about the Aztec
culture in Mexico (The General History of the Things of New Spain) before the
Spanish conquerors arrived in Central America (Florentine Codex). He describes
and explains ancient native religion, beliefs, practices, deities of the Aztecs. His
magnificent document was prepared in 12 books. Book number 11 describes the
‘‘Earthly Things’’ (properties of animals, birds, fish, trees, herbs, flowers, metals,
stones, and colors). In this volume he draws, describes and explains some invertebrate forms used by the Aztecs during their daily life, including some sea
urchins, starfish and probably sea cucumbers. This is probably the earliest record
of echinoderms in the Americas.
Louis Éconches Feuillée (1660–1732), a French member of the Order of the
Minims, was an explorer, geographer, and botanist who travelled to Chile,
Argentina and Peru on different expeditions from 1709 to 1711. He gave the first
echinoderm references for these Latin American countries. The first formal
taxonomic description of a Latin American echinoderm was made by the famous
naturalist Carl Nilsson Linnæus (1707–1778) in his 1758 publication of Systema
Naturae. In this classification of all living organisms, he formally described several
echinoderm species from Latin American coasts (i.e. Oreaster reticulatus,
Echinometra lucunter and Clypeaster rosaceus). Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de
Monet de Lamarck (1734–1829), a French naturalist and an early proponent of the
idea that evolution occurred and proceeded in accordance with natural laws,
published in 1816 one of his masterpieces, ‘‘Histoire Naturelle des Animaux sans
Vertébres’’. He reported new echinoderm species collected in LA. A contemporary
of Lamarck was the Chilean Juan Ignacio Molina (1740–1829) better known as
‘‘Abate Molina’’. In 1782 he published his work ‘‘Saggio sulla Storia Naturale del
Chile’’ where he described two new species of sea urchins from Chilean waters,
Echinus albus (=Loxechinus albus), and Tetrapygus niger.
Jean-Louis-Rodolphe Agassiz (1807–1873), a Swiss paleontologist, geologist
and a prominent zoologist, was a professor at Harvard University in the United
States. In several papers he described echinoid fauna from the LA. Rudolf
Amandus Philippi Krumwiede (1808–1904) was a German-Chilean paleontologist
and zoologist who described and published new and already known echinoderm
species from Chile. His most ‘‘famous’’ species is probably the sea urchin
Diadema antillarum, from the Caribbean, which he described in 1845. Theodore
4
J. J. Alvarado and F. A. Solís-Marín