New Zealand sea urchin
| New Zealand sea urchin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Echinoidea |
| Order: | Echinoida |
| Family: | Echinometridae |
| Genus: | Evechinus |
| Species: | E. chloroticus |
| Binomial name | |
|
Evechinus chloroticus Valenciennes, 1846 |
|
Evechinus chloroticus, better known as kina (from the Māori name), is a sea urchin endemic to New Zealand. This echinoderm belongs to the family Echinometridae and it can reach a maximum diameter of 16–17 cm (Barker 2007).
Kina have been a traditional component of Māori diet since pre-European times and has been fished commercially since 1986 in small quantities under the quota management system in restricted areas along the coast of New Zealand (Barker 2007, James et al.2007). Attempts to export E. chloroticus to Asian markets have been unsuccessful, so it may not be an economically attractive species for aquaculture development (James 2003, James 2010).
Evechinus chloroticus is distributed throughout New Zealand and in some northern and southern offshore islands (Dix 1970a, Barker 2007).
This sea urchin is found all around New Zealand in shallow waters around 12–14 metres deep (Barker 2007), although there are also intertidal populations in the north of both the North and South Islands (Dix 1970a).
Evechinus chloroticus prefers areas with moderate wave action (Barker 2007). In the north of New Zealand it is found mostly on rocky seafloor areas but also in areas of sandy seafloor (Dix 1970a, Choat and Schiel 1982). In the South Island it is also found in abundant densities throughout the fiords (Villouta et al. 2001).
Individuals smaller than 1 cm of diameter are found attached under both intertidal and subtidal rocks, whereas individuals between 1–4 cm are found in intertidal and subtidal areas under the rocks, or within small depressions in rocks (Dix 1970a, Barker 2007). After the sea urchins reach 4 cm they migrate to open areas (Barker 2007).
Evechinus chloroticus is mainly herbivorous (Barker 2007), feeding on large brown algae, red algae and encrusting substrate (Dix 1970a). If kina populations become out of control, kelp forest can be entirely eaten away, leaving bare rocks, also known as Kina Barrens.
Larval stages can feed on different species of unicellular algae in a size range between 5 and 50 µm (MacEdward and Miner 2007).
Molluscs such as the cymatiid gastropods Charonia capax and C. rudicunda, starfish, and benthic feeding fishes can feed on individuals of E. chloroticus (Dix 1970a). The most important predators are the eleven-armed sea star, Coscinasterias calamaria, the seven-armed prickly starfish, Astrostole scabra, and the spiny lobster, Jasus edwardsii (Andrew and MacDiarmid 1991, Barker 2007).
...
Wikipedia