Sea urchin identification in Kodingareng Lompo waters, Spermonde Archipelago

Abstract

Sea urchin, belongs to Phylum Echinoderm, Class Echinoidea. It is categorized as benthic marine invertebrates, and could be found in several ecosystem from shallow water to abyssal depth. Despite the high potential, there is no detail information of this organism in Indonesia, especially in Spermonde Archipelago, South Sulawesi Region. This study aim to identify the sea urchin species found in Kodingareng Lompo Island, Spermonde Archipelago. Kodingareng Lompo is one of the islands belong to Sangkarang Regency, Makassar city. Sampling was done during July 2020. Samples were collected randomly in seagrass bed and transition area. The morphological identification was conducted at the main island. The morphological traits of sea urchin samples collections were observed, noted, and compared with some literatures for identification. There three kind of sea urchin found in this waters: Diadema setosum, Mespilia globulus and Tripneustes gratilla.