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Phyllacanthus imperialis QQ

Tiara-urchin

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult, Penrhyn, ID?	25KB
Image:	Adult, Sulawesi	46KB
Image:	Adult, Sulawesi	56KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Tiara-urchin, Pensil Urchin

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Tonga - e.Polynesia; n. to s.Japan

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine, near-shore

KEY FEATURES: To 8cm h.d. TEST dark purple. PRIMARY SPINES widely spaced, large with blunt tips, ± pale bands.

Enlarged Image of 'Phyllacanthus imperialis QQ'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
P

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Phyllacanthus imperialis QQ (Lamarck, 1816)
Query: tentative ID by G.Paulay 2005/12 from Penrhyn image

SYNONYMS: Phyllacanthus parvispinusQQ [mistaken, this DB to 2005/12, is Australian endemic]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ECHINODERMATA; ELEUTHEROZOA; ECHINOIDEA; REGULARIA; Cidaroidea; CIDARIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Tongareva: fieldsight+photo, 1985, Neil Simms with tentative ID G.McCormack as Phyllacanthus parvispinus, re-ID as probably Phyllacanthus imperialis.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zupB05b, zM02, zupM05b, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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