Integrative taxonomy of the crinoids (Echinodermata: Crinoidea) of the shallow waters of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

• Published in: Genome Vol. 60; no. 11; p. 992
• Main Authors: Samyn, Yves, Sanctobin, Gillis, Meganck, Kenny, Smitz, Nathalie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ottawa Canadian Science Publishing NRC Research Press 01.11.2017
• Subjects: Bar codes; Biodiversity; Crinoidea; Data collection; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Echinodermata; Ecosystem services; Ecotourism; Ethanol; Expeditions; Exploitation; Fauna; Fish; Gene sequencing; Marine ecosystems; Resource exploitation; Species; Taxa; Taxonomic revision; Taxonomy; Africa; South Africa
• ISSN: 0831-2796; 1480-3321

Background:Marine biodiversity of eastern Africa is relatively poorly known, with great disparities in taxonomic and geographical coverage and large gaps in taxonomic data. The coastline of KwaZulu-Natal in the southeast has been reasonably well explored for echinoderms, resulting in a number of recent taxonomic revisions for the region. However, the last comprehensive taxonomic revision for Crinoidea dates from 1976. An urgent update of the fauna was thus needed. Given the intricate morphological characters of crinoids,DNAbarcoding was used to deliminate taxa. Results: Five recent expeditions to the shallow-waters (50 m depth max.) of KwaZulu-Natal (1999-2016) resulted in a modern voucher collection of echinoderms. The bulk of this material is deposited in the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium. This study focuses on the collected crinoids. DNA barcodes were generated for most of the specimens (96 of 113 samples or 85%). Independent morphological examination led to species identification. The number of shallow-water crinoids of KwaZulu-Natal was raised from 5 to a putative number of 10 species. All appear to be typical tropical species. It is interesting to note that barcode fragments were successfully obtained from ethanol preserved, but also from dried, specimens, giving promise that other museum collections, which often store their crinoids dry, can also be harvested to expand the BOLD library. Significance: Given that marine biodiversity is an important source of income for South Africa, either directly through resource exploitation or indirectly through ecotourism or through ecosystem services, it is of paramount importance that marine biodiversity is properly documented and understood. Barcoding helps in this endeavour. These are the first DNA barcodes of crinoids for eastern South Africa.