First Distribution Record Of Regular Echinoids (Echinodermata; Echinoidea) From Chennai Coast, South India

Introduction Sea urchins have recently been attracting considerable research interest as sources of a number of highly valuable bioactive compounds that possess antitumour, antiviral, antimicrobial and anticoagulant properties that hold great promise for use in pharmacological applications (Ryoyama, 1974; Wardlaw and Unkles, 1978; Okigbo et al., 2008). This necessitated a thorough stock assessment study of regular echinoids in Indian coastal waters to promote viable culture practices. The Indian coastal waters harbour over 50 species of sea urchins of which 14 have been found to be edible (James, 1983; Kaliaperumal and James, 1993). In this paper, an attempt has been made to provide an updated systematic account and distribution status which includes the first record in Indian seas of a number of regular sea urchin species such as Salmaciella oligopora, Astropyga radiata and Prinocidaris baculosa along the continental shelf of Chennai, Kovalam and Marakkanam coasts, Tamilnadu, South India. Among these S.oligopora species has been reported for the first time from Indian waters.We identified and examined the morphological features of S.oligopora and conducted molecular identification (18S ribosomal gene sequence).