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Methods
Checklist of Shallow-Water Echinodermata of Florida
Names on the initial draft of this list were extracted
from Echinoderms of Florida and the Caribbean (Hendler
et al., 1995) and then supplemented or confirmed by information
from many other published sources, which
are listed in the accompanying compendium of pertinent
references. Some of the more comprehensive references
consulted during preparation of the list are the
following, listed in alphabetical order: A. M. Clark and
Downey (1992), Downey (1973), Durham et al. (1966),
Frizzell et al. (1966), Harold and Telford (1990), Hendler
(1995), Hopkins (1988), Kier and Grant (1965), Messing
(1978), Miller and Pawson (1984), Ruppert and Fox
(1988), Serafy (1979), Spencer and Wright (1966),Thomas
(1962), Thomas (1973), and Tortonese and Downey
(1977). Many additional papers on the systematics of
Florida taxa were consulted, most of which dealt with
only one or a few species; included in this group are
several papers each by R. H. Chesher, A. H. Clark, E.
Deichmann, D. M. Devaney, M. E. Downey, G. Hendler,
P. M. Kier, J. E. Miller, D. L. Pawson, D. K. Serafy, R. L.
Singletary, L. P. Thomas, and R. L. Turner, as well as a
few others included in the list of pertinent references.
In several instances, the database of the Florida Marine
Research Institute Marine Specimen Collection
was searched for depth records to indicate whether a
species should be listed.The draft list of names was then
sent to three reviewers (see Acknowledgments), one of
whom suggested several additions to and deletions
from the list and all of whom helped by filling in missing
information on the authorities (authors’ names
and dates of introduction) for some of the higher taxa.
This list of shallow-water taxa includes all echinoderms
known to occur in Florida’s estuaries and
coastal waters offshore to depths of about 37 m (120 feet;
20 fathoms). A few of the listed species are principally
deeper-water organisms whose ranges extend only
slightly into shallow coastal waters. The ranges of
species in this group, which includes the echinoids
William G. Lyons
Genocidaris maculata and Stylocidaris affinis, the ophiuroid
Astroporpa annulata, and perhaps a few others,
begin at about 30-35 m and extend offshore to much
greater depths on the continental shelf.Those species
are included here for completeness, but it is unlikely
that most of them will be found in shallower depths.
The ophiuroid Amphioplus abditus is known to occur
from Maine southward to Sapelo Island, Georgia, typically
in shallow water but also out to depths of 40 m
(Hendler, 1995). The species is listed here on the suspicion
that any species found at Sapelo Island, Georgia,
may eventually be found in coastal waters of extreme
northeastern Florida.
The classification of taxa follows that used in the
most recently published revisions, but with one exception.
The ophiuroid Amphipholis atra (Stimpson,
1865) has customarily been classified in the genus Amphiodia
Verrill, 1899 (e.g., Hendler et al., 1995) but is
listed here in Amphipholis Ljungman, 1867, following
the advice of Dr. R. L.Turner.
Acknowledgments
Draft lists of echinoderms were reviewed by Dr. David
L. Pawson, Department of Invertebrates, U.S. National
Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C.; Mr. Roger Portell, Department of Invertebrate
Paleontology, Florida Museum of Natural
History, Gainesville; and Dr. Richard L. Turner, Department
of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of
Technology, Melbourne. Each of the reviewers contributed
comments that improved the list. I am especially
grateful to each of them for providing hard-tofind
information on authorities for some of the higher
taxa; that information proved to be quite troublesome
to locate for some groups. Sandra LaGant, Florida Department
of Environmental Protection, Florida Marine
Research Institute, also assisted by providing
depth records for several taxa from the database of the
Institute’s Marine Specimen Collection.
FMRI Technical Report TR-3 191