echinus esculentus , the european edible sea urchin or common sea urchin , is a species of marine invertebrate in the echinidae family .

it is found in coastal areas of western europe down to a depth of 1,200 m ( 3,900 ft ) .

it is considered " near threatened " in the iucn red list of threatened species .

echinus esculentus

variety echinus esculentus var . fuscus mortensen , 1903 accepted as echinus esculentus fuscus mortensen , 1903 ( accepted at subspecies rank )
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variety echinus esculentus var . glacialis d ' yakonov , 1923 accepted as echinus esculentus glacialis d ' yakonov , 1923 ( accepted at subspecies rank )
echinus esculentus showing tube feet , spines and pedicellaria at the mewstone in plymouth .
no alien or non - native species is known to compete with echinus esculentus .
variety echinus esculentus var . tenuispinus norman , 1868 accepted as echinus tenuispinus norman , 1868 ( accepted at species rank )
variety echinus esculentus var . tenuispina norman , 1868 accepted as echinus tenuispinus norman , 1868 ( incorrect declination of infraspecific name )
close up of echinus esculentus showing tube feet , spines and pedicellaria at the mewstone , plymouth .
phylum echinodermata , class echinoidea , order echinoida , family echinidae , echinus esculentus linnaeus , 1758 .
1 . echinus esculentus was studied from four localities in the isle of man and from one in the clyde .
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echinus esculentus linnaeus , 1758
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frédéric ducarme marked
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as trusted on the
echinus esculentus linnaeus , 1758
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bay - nouailhat a . , september 2005 , description of echinus esculentus , available on line at urltoken consulted on 09 july 2018 .
a comparison of the biology of echinus esculentus in different habitats . part ii | journal of the marine biological association of the united kingdom | cambridge core
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nichols , d . , 1979 . a nationwide survey of the british sea urchin echinus esculentus . progress in underwater science , 4 , 161 - 187 .
echinus esculentus is probably regularly displaced to deeper water by storms . displaced specimens are able to move up the shore after displacement ( lewis & nichols 1979b ) .
the majority of echinus esculentus are subtidal although they occur occasionally in the lower intertidal . an increase in emergence will depress the height up the shore that this species can occur .
bishop , g . m . , 1985 . aspects of the reproductive ecology of the sea urchin echinus esculentus l . ph . d . thesis , university of exeter , uk .
moore ( 1977 ) suggested that echinus esculentus was unaffected by turbid conditions . however , increased turbidity and resultant reduced light penetration is likely to affect macroalgal populations e . g . kelps , which are a preferred food species for echinus esculentus . however , it can feed on alternative prey , detritus or dissolved organic material ( lawrence , 1975 , comely & ansell , 1988 ) .
gage , j . d . , 1992b . natural growth bands and growth variability in the sea urchin echinus esculentus : results from tetracycline tagging . marine biology , 114 , 607 - 616 .
species with fragile tests , such as echinus esculentus and echinocardium cordatum were reported to suffer badly as a result of impact with passing scallop or queen scallop dredges ( bradshaw et al . , 2000 ; hall - spencer & moore , 2000a ) . kaiser et al . ( 2000 ) reported that echinus esculentus were less abundant in areas subject to high trawling disturbance in the irish sea . adults can repair non - lethal damage to the test and spines can be re - grown but most dredge impact is likely to be lethal . therefore , echinus esculentus is likely to be of intermediate intolerance to the effects of fishing activities for other species .
wave exposure prevents urchins invading the sub - littoral fringe in exposed sites . higher levels of wave action are likely to depress the upper extent of echinus esculentus populations . decreased wave action is likely to allow the local urchin population to migrate into shallow water depths with resultant impact of algal communities . lewis & nichols ( 1979b ) reported that echinus esculentus migrated to shallow water after disturbance , an adaptation to being washed to deeper water by wave action . however , in the most wave exposed location in the british isles at rockall , echinus esculentus occurred in significant numbers as shallow as 15m below low water level ( keith hiscock pers . comm . ) .
comely , c . a . & ansell , a . d . , 1988 . invertebrate associates of the sea urchin , echinus esculentus l . , from the scottish west coast . ophelia , 28 , 111 - 137 .
gage , j . d . , 1992a . growth bands in the sea urchin echinus esculentus : results from tetracycline mark / recapture . journal of the marine biological association of the united kingdom , 72 , 257 - 260 .
bishop , g . m . & earll , r . , 1984 . studies on the populations of echinus esculentus at the st abbs and skomer voluntary marine nature reserves . progress in underwater science , 9 , 53 - 66 .
picton , b . e . & morrow , c . c . ( 2016 ) . echinus esculentus linnaeus , 1758 . [ in ] encyclopedia of marine life of britain and ireland . urltoken accessed on 2018 - 07 - 09
lewis , g . a . & nichols , d . , 1980 . geotactic movement following disturbance in the european sea - urchin , echinus esculentus ( echinodermata : echinoidea ) . progress in underwater science , 5 , 171 - 186 .
stott , f . c . 2009 . the food canal of the sea - urchin echinus esculentus l . and its functions . * . proceedings of the zoological society of london , vol . 125 , issue . 1 , p . 63 .
macbride , e . w . , 1903 . the development of echinus esculentus together with some points on the development of e . miliaris and e . acutus . philosophical transactions of the royal society of london , series b , 195 , 285 - 327 .
the majority of echinus esculentus are subtidal although they occur occasionally in the lower intertidal . they are slow moving and unlikely to be able to return to water quickly . if exposed to desiccation it is likely to be intolerant of exposure to air and sunshine for 1 hour .
gommez , j . l . c . & miguez - rodriguez , l . j . , 1999 . effects of oil pollution on skeleton and tissues of echinus esculentus l . 1758 ( echinodermata , echinoidea ) in a population of a coruna bay , galicia , spain .
tyler - walters , h . , 2000 . echinus esculentus . edible sea urchin . marine life information network : biology and sensitivity key information sub - programme [ on - line ] . plymouth : marine biological association of the united kingdom . ( august , 2002 ) urltoken
at very wave exposed sites , echinus esculentus is unlikely to be present in shallow depths because of displacement by wave action . however , presence of this species as shallow as 15m depth at rockall suggests an ability to withstand severe wave action ( keith hiscock pers . comm . ) .
nichols , d . , 1984 . an investigation of the population dynamics of the common edible sea urchin ( echinus esculentus l . ) in relation to species conservation management . report to department of the environment and nature conservancy council from the department of biological sciences , university of exeter .
echinus esculentus occurred in kelp beds on the west coast of scotland in currents of about 1 knot . outside the beds specimens were occasionally seen being rolled by the current ( comely & ansell 1988 ) , which may have been up to 2 . 6 knots . urchins are removed from the stipe of kelps by wave and current action . echinus esculentus are also displaced by storm action . however , urchins were found to feed normally only when provided with ' good ' water flow ( boolootian 1966 ) . after disturbance echinus esculentus migrates up the shore , an adaptation to being washed to deeper water by wave action ( lewis & nichols 1979b ) . therefore , increased water flow may remove the population from the affected area ; probably to deeper water although individuals would probably not be killed in the process and could recolonize the area if the factor returned to its pre - impact condition .
echinus eſculentus linnaeus , 1758 ( incorrect original spelling ( iczn 4th ed . , art . 32 . 5 . ) )
kozloff , e . n . & westervelt , c . a . jr . , 1990 . syndesmis rubida sp . nov . and s . albida sp . nov . ( turbellaria : neorhabdocoela : umagillidae ) from the sea urchin echinus esculentus . cahiers de biologie marine , 31 , 323 - 332 .
moore ( 1977 ) suggested that echinus esculentus was unaffected by turbid conditions . similarly , comely & ansell ( 1988 ) recorded this species in the presence of suspended material up to 5 - 6 mg / l . echinoderm pedicellariae keep the test clear of settling larvae , spores and presumably sediment particles . echinus esculentus is known to ingest sediment ( comely & ansell , 1988 ) possibly to extract microalgae . therefore , an increase in siltation may not kill this species but is likely to interfere with feeding and additional scour may reduce larval settlement . the increased turbidity associated with siltation is likely to adversely affect its main food species , the kelps , benthic macroalgae and epi - fauna .
tyler - walters , h . , 2008 . echinus esculentus edible sea urchin . in tyler - walters h . and hiscock k . ( eds ) marine life information network : biology and sensitivity key information reviews , [ on - line ] . plymouth : marine biological association of the united kingdom . [ cited 09 - 07 - 2018 ] . available from : urltoken
echinus esculentus linnaeus , 1758 : linnaeus ( 1758 ) : 663 . [ description originale ] linnaeus , c . 1758 . systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ , secundum classes , ordines , genera , species , cum characteribus , differentiis , synonymis , locis . editio decima , reformata . holmiæ . ( salvius ) . tomus i : 1 - 824 . [ urltoken ]
comely & ansell ( 1988 ) noted that the largest number of echinus esculentus occurred below the kelp forest . similarly , lang & mann ( 1978 ) noted that young strongylocentrotus droebachiensis recruited in urchin barrens , suggesting that urchin recruitment is improved in the absence of kelp , presumably due to differences in microclimate , the absence of suspension feeders and other predators associated with kelp beds .
under hypoxic conditions echinoderms become less mobile and stop feeding . death of a bloom of the phytoplankton gyrodinium aureolum in mounts bay , penzance in 1978 produced a layer of brown slime on the sea bottom . this resulted in the death of fish and invertebrates , including echinus esculentus , presumably due to anoxia caused by the decay of the dead dinoflagellates ( griffiths et al . 1979 ) .
( of echinus quinqueangulatus blainville , 1825 ) blainville , h . m . d . d . 1825 . oursin , echinus ( actinozoaires . ) . pp . 59 - 98 in dictionnaire des sciences naturelles f . g . levrault , strasbourg & paris . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 79 [ details ]
( of echinus violaceus blainville , 1825 ) blainville , h . m . d . d . 1825 . oursin , echinus ( actinozoaires . ) . pp . 59 - 98 in dictionnaire des sciences naturelles f . g . levrault , strasbourg & paris . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 80 [ details ]
( of echinus auranticus blainville , 1825 ) blainville , h . m . d . d . 1825 . oursin , echinus ( actinozoaires . ) . pp . 59 - 98 in dictionnaire des sciences naturelles f . g . levrault , strasbourg & paris . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 79 [ details ]
( of echinus pseudo - melo blainville , 1825 ) blainville , h . m . d . d . 1825 . oursin , echinus ( actinozoaires . ) . pp . 59 - 98 in dictionnaire des sciences naturelles f . g . levrault , strasbourg & paris . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 77 [ details ]
planktonic development is complex and takes between 45 - 60 days in captivity ( macbride 1914 ) . development includes a blastula , gastrula and a characteristic , four armed echinopluteus stage that forms an important component of the zooplankton . the development of echinus esculentus is described in detail by macbride ( 1903 , 1914 ) . photographs of the echinopluteus and fully formed juveniles are given by todd et al . ( 1996 ) .
collecting of echinus esculentus for the curio trade was studied by nichols ( 1984 ) . he concluded that the majority of divers collected only large specimens that are seen quickly and often missed individuals covered by seaweed or under rocks , especially if small . as a result , a significant proportion of the population remains . he suggested that exploited populations should not be allowed to fall below 0 . 2 individuals per square metre .
emson , r . h . , & moore , p . g . , 1998 . diet and gonad size in three populations of echinus esculentus . in proceedings of the ninth international echinoderm conference san francisco , california , usa , 5 - 9 august 1996 . echinoderms : san francisco ( ed . r . mooi & m . telford ) , pp . 641 - 644 . rotterdam : a . a . balkena .
recruitment is sporadic or variable depending on locality , e . g . millport populations showed annual recruitment , whereas few recruits were found in plymouth populations during nichols studies between 1980 - 1981 ( nichols 1984 ) . bishop & earll ( 1984 ) suggested that the population of echinus esculentus at st abbs had a high density and recruited regularly whereas the skomer population was sparse , ageing and had probably not successfully recruited larvae in the previous 6 years .
echinus pseudo - melo blainville , 1825 ( incorrect original spelling ( mandatory changed according to iczn 4th ed . article 32 . 5 . 2 . 3 . - removal of hyphen ) )
the adults are slow moving and unlikely to be able to avoid smothering . a 5 cm layer of sediment is likely to affect smaller specimens more than large specimens . smothered individuals are unlikely to be able to move through sediment . however , individuals are unlikely to starve within a month . comely & ansell ( 1988 ) recorded large echinus esculentus from kelp beds on the west coast of scotland in which the substratum was seasonally covered with
high levels
of silt . this suggests that echinus esculentus is unlikely to be killed by smothering , however , smaller specimens and juveniles may be more intolerant . a layer of sediment may interfere with larval settlement . lewis & nichols ( 1979 ) found that adults were able to colonize an artificial reef in small numbers within 3 months and the population steadily grew over the following year . recruitment is sporadic or annual depending on locality and factors affecting larval pre - settlement and post - settlement survival .
the edible or common sea urchin ( echinus esculentus ) has a large , rounded ' shell ' , which is actually an external skeleton , correctly called a ' test ' , composed of calcareous plates . it is usually pinkish - red in colour but more rarely may be shades of yellow , green or purple ( 2 ) . the shape of the test varies depending on the depth of the water ; those of individuals living in shallow water tend to be more flat than those of individuals living in deep water ( 3 ) . the latin name for the genus ' echinus ' derives from the greek for ' spiny ' ; the test bristles with many protective reddish spines with lilac coloured tips ( 2 ) .
echinus eſculentus linnaeus , 1758 : koehler ( 1921 ) [ statut pour la france métropolitaine ] koehler , r . 1921 . echinodermes . faune de france , 1 : 1 - 216 , 153 fig . [ urltoken ]
minin , k . v . 2012 . vertical trends in morphological variability of sea urchins of the genus echinus from the northeast atlantic and arctic . paleontological journal , vol . 46 , issue . 8 , p . 927 .
( of echinus swartzii nilsson & holst , 1817 ) nilsson , s . , & holst , a . ludvig . 1817 . collectanea zoologiae scandinavicae . londini gothorum : litteris berlingianis page ( s ) : 7 - 9 [ details ]
( of sphærechinus esculentus ( linnaeus , 1758 ) ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 [ details ]
the genus echinus is derived from the greek ' echinos ' meaning ' a hedgehog ' . an omnivorous grazer feeding on seaweeds ( e . g . laminaria spp . sporelings ) , bryozoa , barnacles and other encrusting invertebrates . size range varies depending on age and locality , e . g . c . 4 cm at 1 year , 4 - 7 cm at 2 years , 7 - 9 cm at 3 years and 9 - 11 cm at 4 years . this species may hybridize with echinus acutus if sympatric .
tyler , p . a . & young , c . m . , 1998 . temperature and pressures tolerances in dispersal stages of the genus echinus ( echinodermata : echinoidea ) : prerequisites for deep sea invasion and speciation . deep sea research ii , 45 , 253 - 277
the common sea urchin , echinus esculentus , is the largest urchin in our waters . most commonly it is an orangey brown colour and covered in little white bumps and orange spines . sea urchins belong to the phylum , echinodermata making them closely related to starfish , sea cucumbers and brittle stars .
echidnodermate
comes from the greek meaning
spiny skin
. these slow moving creatures use their spines , not only for protection , but also to aid movement and also for trapping floating particles of food . a sea urchins spiny exterior is attached to a series of five chalky plates , fitting together like the segments of an orange forming the urchins skeleton known as a “test” .
similar species : echinus acutus has not been recorded by divers but may occur in shallow water on north sea coasts . it normally lives in deep water ( 200m + ) and has fewer spines with obvious , long , robust primaries 2 - 4 times the size of the smaller secondaries .
middleton , david a . j . gurney , william s . c . and gage , john d . 1998 . growth and energy allocation in the deep - sea urchin echinus affinis . biological journal of the linnean society , vol . 64 , issue . 3 , p . 315 .
echinoderms are generally unable to tolerate low salinity ( stenohaline ) and possess no osmoregulatory organ ( boolootian 1966 ) . at low salinity urchins gain weight , and the epidermis loses its pigment as patches are destroyed ; prolonged exposure is fatal . the coelomic fluid of echinus esculentus is isotonic with seawater ( stickle & diehl 1987 ) . there is some evidence for intracellular regulation of osmotic pressure due to increased amino acid concentrations . populations in the sublittoral fringe probably encounter reduced salinity due to low water and fresh water runoff or heavy rain and may tolerate low salinity for short periods . however , echinoderm larvae have a narrow range of salinity tolerance and develop abnormally and die if exposed to reduced or increased salinity .
bright light and shading elicit well studied reactions in echinoderms . in echinoids shading results in the ' shadow reaction ' in which the pedicellariae and spines are pointed in the direction of the shade in a defensive reaction . echinoids move away from bright light and seek out crevices and / or cover themselves with debris such as shells and drift algae , the ' covering reaction ' ( see boolootian ( 1966 ) for discussion ) . movement of boats is unlikely to be noticed , especially under a kelp canopy in which light may penetrate intermittently with passing currents . if echinoids such as echinus esculentus react to the approach of divers and snorkelers at closer proximity , the reaction is likely to be short lived and insignificant .
( of echinus globiformis lamarck , 1816 ) lamarck , j . b . m . de . ( 1816 ) . histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres . tome troisième . paris : deterville / verdière . 612 pp . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 44 [ details ]
echinus esculentus is a globular sea urchin between 10 and 17 cm in diameter . spines are short , around 1 , 5 cm long , thick and regular . their colour is variable : greenish or pale purple . the thick test is purple and red with five clearer bands on the ambulacral plates . when extending , tube - feet are clearly visible among the spines . they are used to adhere to subtratum . the common sea urchin lives on rocks where it feeds on seaweeds , especially laminaria , or bryozoans or other small invertebrates . it is found from surface to 50 m deep , and sometimes at depths up to 1200m , in the atlantic ocean from norway to portugal , in the english channel and the north sea .
( of echinus globiformis lamarck , 1816 ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 [ details ]
( of echinus schwartzii nilsson , 1817 ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 [ details ]
( of echinus pseudomelo blainville , 1825 ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 [ details ]
( of echinus quinqueangulatus blainville , 1825 ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 [ details ]
( of echinus violaceus blainville , 1825 ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 [ details ]
( of echinus aurantiacus ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 ; note : misspelling [ details ]
( of echinus sphaera o . f . müller , 1776 ) müller , o . f . ( 1776 ) . zoologiae danicae prodromus : seu animalium daniae et norvegiae indigenarum characteres , nomina , et synonyma imprimis popularium . hafniae , typiis hallageriis . 1 - 274 . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 235 [ details ]
( of echinus eſculentus linnaeus , 1758 ) linnaeus , c . ( 1758 ) . systema naturae per regna tria naturae , secundum classes , ordines , genera , species , cum characteribus , differentiis , synonymis , locis . editio decima , reformata . laurentius salvius : holmiae . ii , 824 pp . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
( of echinus sphaera o . f . müller , 1776 ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 [ details ]
( of echinus swartzii nilsson & holst , 1817 ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 26 [ as e . schwartzii ] [ details ]
the common sea urchin , echinus esculentus , is constantly browsing any available surface for algae or invertebrate life . in the illustration you will see that the rocks are almost bare and that is largely due to the urchins activities . in this zone , which is around about 20m , there is little wave action so the urchins are not disturbed and huge numbers are present at times . on the underside of the urchin is a five - pointed beak - like arrangement which rasps food off the rocks . this is comparitivley powerful and few organisms can resist it . in shallower areas , and particularly on steep surfaces , wave action dislodges urchins that have managed to get up there in settled weather and the algae and invertebrate life is only affected minimally . see separate picture showing a common sea urchin ' s tube feet which it uses to cling on to rocks when necessary .
( of echinus quinquangulosus ) blainville , h . m . d . de 1834 . manuel d’actinologie ou de zoophytologie . ( f . g . levrault : paris , strasbourg ) : volume 1 ( text ) , 1 - viii , 1 - 644 ; volume 2 ( atlas ) , pls i - c . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 227 [ details ]
( of echinus aurantiacus ) hansson , h . g . ( 2001 ) . echinodermata , in : costello , m . j . et al . ( ed . ) ( 2001 ) . european register of marine species : a check - list of the marine species in europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification . collection patrimoines naturels , . 50 : pp . 336 - 351 . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
( of echinus quinqueangulosus ) hansson , h . g . ( 2001 ) . echinodermata , in : costello , m . j . et al . ( ed . ) ( 2001 ) . european register of marine species : a check - list of the marine species in europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification . collection patrimoines naturels , . 50 : pp . 336 - 351 . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
( of echinus globiformis lamarck , 1816 ) hansson , h . g . ( 2001 ) . echinodermata , in : costello , m . j . et al . ( ed . ) ( 2001 ) . european register of marine species : a check - list of the marine species in europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification . collection patrimoines naturels , . 50 : pp . 336 - 351 . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
( of echinus schwartzii nilsson , 1817 ) hansson , h . g . ( 2001 ) . echinodermata , in : costello , m . j . et al . ( ed . ) ( 2001 ) . european register of marine species : a check - list of the marine species in europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification . collection patrimoines naturels , . 50 : pp . 336 - 351 . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
( of echinus pseudomelo blainville , 1825 ) hansson , h . g . ( 2001 ) . echinodermata , in : costello , m . j . et al . ( ed . ) ( 2001 ) . european register of marine species : a check - list of the marine species in europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification . collection patrimoines naturels , . 50 : pp . 336 - 351 . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
( of echinus quinqueangulatus blainville , 1825 ) hansson , h . g . ( 2001 ) . echinodermata , in : costello , m . j . et al . ( ed . ) ( 2001 ) . european register of marine species : a check - list of the marine species in europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification . collection patrimoines naturels , . 50 : pp . 336 - 351 . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
( of echinus violaceus blainville , 1825 ) hansson , h . g . ( 2001 ) . echinodermata , in : costello , m . j . et al . ( ed . ) ( 2001 ) . european register of marine species : a check - list of the marine species in europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification . collection patrimoines naturels , . 50 : pp . 336 - 351 . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
( of echinus sphaera o . f . müller , 1776 ) hansson , h . g . ( 2001 ) . echinodermata , in : costello , m . j . et al . ( ed . ) ( 2001 ) . european register of marine species : a check - list of the marine species in europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification . collection patrimoines naturels , . 50 : pp . 336 - 351 . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
the common and scientific names suggest that this sea urchin is edible ( esculentus is the latin word for ' edible ' ) , yet only the reproductive organs ( roe ) can be eaten ( 5 ) . there is a large international market for sea urchin products , particularly the roe ( 6 ) . exploitation of sea urchins grew rapidly in many countries , and in many cases over - exploitation and collapse of the sea urchin populations followed ( 6 ) . there was a sea urchin fishery in cornwall in the 1980s , and the potential of a fishery in shetland has been investigated ( 2 ) . the edible sea urchin has also been collected commercially for the curio trade ( 2 ) .
linnaeus , c . ( 1758 ) . systema naturae per regna tria naturae , secundum classes , ordines , genera , species , cum characteribus , differentiis , synonymis , locis . editio decima , reformata . laurentius salvius : holmiae . ii , 824 pp . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 663 [ details ]
distribution from low intertidal , but mainly in the sublittoral zone , down to 40 m depth , occasionally deeper , on rocks , stones or seaweed ; . . .
kroh , a . & mooi , r . ( 2018 ) . world echinoidea database .
( of cidaris hemisphaerica leske , 1778 ) leske , n . g . 1778 . jacobi theodori klein naturalis dispositio echinodermatum . . . , edita et descriptionibus novisque inventis et synonomis auctorem aucta . addimenta ad i . t . klein naturalem dispositionem echinodermatum . g . e . beer , leipzig , xxii + 278 pp . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 90 - 92 ; pl . 2 ( ? nicht gut leserlich ) : fig . e , pl . 40 : fig . 7 [ details ]
hansson , h . g . ( 2001 ) . echinodermata , in : costello , m . j . et al . ( ed . ) ( 2001 ) . european register of marine species : a check - list of the marine species in europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification . collection patrimoines naturels , . 50 : pp . 336 - 351 . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 [ details ]
southward , e . c . ; campbell , a . c . ( 2006 ) . [ echinoderms : keys and notes for the identification of british species ] . synopses of the british fauna ( new series ) , 56 . field studies council : shrewsbury , uk . isbn 1 - 85153 - 269 - 2 . 272 pp . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
dyntaxa . ( 2013 ) . swedish taxonomic database . accessed at urltoken [ 15 - 01 - 2013 ] . , available online at http : / / urltoken [ details ]
hansson , h . ( 2004 ) . north east atlantic taxa ( neat ) : nematoda . internet pdf ed . aug 1998 . , available online at urltoken [ details ] available for editors [ request ]
( of cidaris esculenta ( linnaeus , 1758 ) ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 [ details ]
( of cidaris hemisphaerica leske , 1778 ) mortensen , t . ( 1943 ) . a monograph of the echinoidea . iii , 3 . camarodonta . ii . echinidæ , strongylocentrotidæ , parasaleniidæ , echinometridæ . 446 pp . , c . a . reitzel , copenhagen . page ( s ) : 25 - 37 [ details ]
iucn red list category iucn red list 1996 low risk / near threatened ( vers . 2 . 3 ) [ details ]
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recorded feeding on ; worms , barnacles ( e . g . balanus spp . ) , hydroids , tunicates , bryozoans ( e . g . membranipora spp . ) , macroalgae ( e . g . laminaria spp . ) , bottom material and detritus ( reviewed by lawrence 1975 ) .
hayward & ryland , 1995b , mortensen , 1927 , fish & fish , 1996 , lawrence , 1975 , macbride , 1903 , kozloff & westervelt , 1990 , comely & ansell , 1988 , hyman , 1955 , gage , 1992 ( a ) , gage , 1992 ( b ) , nichols , 1979 , nichols , 1969 , emson & moore , 1998 , macbride , 1914 , nichols , 1984 , boolootian , 1966 , birkett et al . , 1998b , hayward & ryland , 1990 , julie bremner , unpub data , mortensen , 1927 , rees & dare , 1993 ,
common on most coasts of the british isles but absent from most of east coast of england , the eastern english channel and some parts of north wales .
abundant in the n . e . atlantic from iceland , north to finmark , norway and south to portugal . absent from the mediterranean .
bedrock large to very large boulders small boulders artificial ( e . g . metal / wood / concrete ) rockpools under boulders caves crevices / fissures overhangs
nichols ( 1979 ) estimates the maximum life span to be between 8 - 10 years , whereas gage ( 1992a ) reports a specimen ( based on growth bands ) of at least 16 years of age .
the number of eggs produced will vary with location and nutritive state of the adult but it is likely to be high . macbride ( 1903 ) states that a well - grown female contains about 20 million eggs .
maximum spawning occurs in spring although individuals may spawn over a protracted period . gonad weight is maximal in february / march in english channel ( comely & ansell 1989 ) but decreases during spawning in spring and then increases again through summer and winter until the next spawning ; there is no resting phase . spawning occurs just before the seasonal rise in temperature in temperate zones but is probably not triggered by rising temperature ( bishop 1985 ) . spawning may coincide with spring phytoplankton bloom although there is no evidence to substantiate this suggestion .
comely & ansell ( 1989 ) demonstrated differences in reproductive condition between sites and habitats . emson & moore ( 1998 ) noted that gonad size varied with diet in the isle of cumbrae , scotland ; specimens feeding on barnacles had a higher gonad index than those feeding within the kelp forest .
settlement is thought to occur in autumn and winter ( comely & ansell , 1988 ) . newly settled juveniles have an ambital diameter of 0 . 68 - 0 . 95mm ( nichols 1984 ) .
lawrence , 1975 , macbride , 1903 , hyman , 1955 , gage , 1992 ( a ) , gage , 1992 ( b ) , nichols , 1979 , nichols , 1969 , emson & moore , 1998 , macbride , 1914 , nichols , 1984 , lang & mann , 1978 , bishop , 1985 , boolootian , 1966 , bishop & earll , 1984 , todd et al . , 1996 , julie bremner , unpub data , rees & dare , 1993 ,
biotic ( biological traits information catalogue ) by marlin ( marine life information network ) is licensed under a creative commons attribution - non - commercial - share alike 2 . 0 uk : england & wales license . permissions beyond the scope of this license are available at urltoken . note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own terms and conditions and they may or may not be available for reuse . based on a work at urltoken .
a large globular sea urchin , up to 15 - 16 cm in diameter at 7 - 8 years of age , although the largest diameter recorded was 17 . 6 cm . the test may be relatively flat in shallow water but taller in deep water . test pinkish - red but occasionally yellow , green or purple . spines closely cover the test and are reddish , usually with violet points and white bosses . primary and secondary spines and their bosses are similar in size , except in small specimens in which the primaries are conspicuous . ambulacral plates bear 3 pairs of pores . primary tubercles ( bosses ) found on every second or third ambulacral plate . all coronal plates bear pedicellariae ( modified spines ) . plates covering the mouth membrane bear small , club shaped spines as well as pedicellariae . globeriferous pedicellariae bear 1 lateral tooth below the terminal tooth . the polychaete flabelligera affinis may be found amongst its spines .
found on rocky substrata from the sublittoral fringe to circa 40 m , although it may be found at depths of 100 m or more .
primary and secondary spines and their bosses are similar in size , except in small specimens .
turbellarian parasites syndesmis rubida sp . nov . and syndesmis albida sp . nov . ( kozloff & westervelt 1990 ) , the parasitic nematode echinomermella grayi and external parasitic amphipod euonyx chelatus ( comely & ansell 1988 )
moderately strong 1 to 3 knots ( 0 . 5 - 1 . 5 m / sec . )
nichols ( 1979 ) estimates the maximum lifespan to be between 8 - 10 years , whereas gage ( 1992a ) reports a specimen ( based on growth bands ) of at least 16 years of age .
occurred below the kelp forest . similarly , lang & mann ( 1978 ) noted that young
recruited in urchin barrens , suggesting that urchin recruitment is improved in the absence of kelp , presumably due to differences in microclimate , the absence of suspension feeders and other predators associated with kelp beds .
this marlin sensitivity assessment has been superseded by the maresa approach to sensitivity assessment . marlin assessments used an approach that has now been modified to reflect the most recent conservation imperatives and terminology and are due to be updated by 2016 / 17 .
sea urchins are slow moving and unlikely to escape removal of their substratum . however , a proportion of the population would probably survive removal of algal substratum . investigation of the effects of algal destruction on populations of
suggested that populations of urchins do not migrate away from or starve in areas devoid of kelp , presumably because they are able to feed on alternative prey . areas lacking algae were dominated by young urchins up to 4 years after removal of the kelp suggesting that kelp barrens afforded improved recruitment ( lang & mann 1978 ) , presumably because of the lack of suspension feeding organisms associated with kelp beds . the presence of coralline algae in ' urchin barrens ' may encourage larval metamorphosis in echinoids ( pearce & scheibling 1990 ) .
, 2000 ; hall - spencer & moore , 2000a ) . adults can repair non - lethal damage to the test and spines can be re - grown but most dredge impact is likely to be lethal . therefore , physical abrasion due to a passing anchor or dredge is likely to kill a proportion of the population and an intolerance of intermediate has been recorded . lewis & nichols ( 1979 ) found that adults were able to colonize an artificial reef in small numbers within 3 months and the population steadily grew over the following year . recoverability is probably high . however , recruitment is sporadic or annual depending on locality and factors affecting larval pre - settlement and post - settlement survival .
little is known about the effects of heavy metals on echinoderms . bryan ( 1984 ) reported that early work had shown that echinoderm larvae were intolerant of heavy metals , e . g . the intolerance of larvae of
to copper ( cu ) had been used to develop a water quality assessment . kinne ( 1984 ) reported developmental disturbances in
exposed to waters containing 25 µg / l of copper ( cu ) . sea - urchins , especially the eggs and larvae , are used for toxicity testing and environmental monitoring ( reviewed by dinnel
the addition of nutrients may encourage the growth of ephemeral and epiphytic algae and therefore increase the food available to sea - urchin populations . lawrence ( 1975 ) reported that sea urchins had persisted over 13 years on barren grounds near sewage outfalls , presumably feeding on dissolved organic material , detritus , plankton and microalgae , although individuals died at an early age . the ability to absorb dissolved organic material was suggested by comely & ansell ( 1988 ) .
is susceptible to ' bald - sea - urchin disease ' , which causes lesions , loss of spines , tube feet , pedicellariae , destruction of the upper layer of skeletal tissue and death . it is thought to be caused by the bacteria
in the french mediterranean it is not known if the disease induces mass mortality ( bower 1996 ) . however , no evidence of mass mortalities of
do not migrate away after destroying an area of kelp , although individuals growth rate and gonad production decreases . over the next 3 - 4 years the population became dominated by younger urchins , suggesting that recruitment ( larval settlement and post - settlement survival ) was improved within the ' urchin barren ' ( lang & mann , 1979 ) . since
is an omnivore it is likely that kelp harvesting will have little effect on the population and may improve recruitment in the short term .
is an important grazer of epiflora and epifauna in the subtidal . it may have a keystone role in kelp communities , where grazing by sea urchins may control the lower limit of
was eaten in many parts of england ( pennant 1777 cited in nichols 1981 ) and may continue today locally . references to use in roman times may refer to
mainly sold as a curio , ornament or occasionally as a receptacle and was collected by divers around the uk for the curio trade . it was the object of a specific fishery in cornwall in the 1980s . nichols ( 1981 ) pointed out that although most divers missed small specimens within kelp beds , population densities should not be allowed to fall below 0 . 2 per metre to conserve the species in the uk .
the possibility of a sea urchin fishery in shetland for the japanese market has been investigated recently ( penfold et al . 1996 ) .
sea urchin development has been well studied ( macbride 1914 ) and echinoids form an important research organism in embryology , developmental biology , evolution , biochemistry and molecular biology studies .
birkett , d . a . , maggs , c . a . , dring , m . j . & boaden , p . j . s . , 1998b . infralittoral reef biotopes with kelp species : an overview of dynamic and sensitivity characteristics for conservation management of marine sacs . natura 2000 report prepared by scottish association of marine science ( sams ) for the uk marine sacs project . , scottish association for marine science . ( uk marine sacs project , vol v . ) . available from : urltoken
boolootian , r . a . , 1966 . physiology of echinodermata . ( ed . r . a . boolootian ) , pp . 822 - 822 . new york : john wiley & sons .
bower , s . m . , 1996 . synopsis of infectious diseases and parasites of commercially exploited shellfish : bald - sea - urchin disease . [ on - line ] . fisheries and oceans canada . [ cited 26 / 01 / 16 ] . available from : urltoken
bradshaw , c . , veale , l . o . , hill , a . s . & brand , a . r . , 2000 . the effects of scallop dredging on gravelly seabed communities . in : effects of fishing on non - target species and habitats ( ed . m . j . kaiser & de s . j . groot ) , pp . 83 - 104 . oxford : blackwell science .
dinnel , p . a . , pagano , g . g . , & oshido , p . s . , 1988 . a sea urchin test system for marine environmental monitoring . in echinoderm biology . proceedings of the sixth international echinoderm conference , victoria , 23 - 28 august 1987 , ( r . d . burke , p . v . mladenov , p . lambert , parsley , r . l . ed . ) , pp 611 - 619 . rotterdam : a . a . balkema .
fish , j . d . & fish , s . , 1996 . a student ' s guide to the seashore . cambridge : cambridge university press .
griffiths , a . b . , dennis , r . & potts , g . w . , 1979 . mortality associated with a phytoplankton bloom off penzance in mount ' s bay . journal of the marine biological association of the united kingdom , 59 , 515 - 528 .
hall - spencer , j . m . & moore , p . g . , 2000a . impact of scallop dredging on maerl grounds . in effects of fishing on non - target species and habitats . ( ed . m . j . kaiser & s . j . , de groot ) 105 - 117 . oxford : blackwell science .
hayward , p . j . & ryland , j . s . ( ed . ) 1995b . handbook of the marine fauna of north - west europe . oxford : oxford university press .
howson , c . m . & picton , b . e . , 1997 . the species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the british isles and surrounding seas . belfast : ulster museum . [ ulster museum publication , no . 276 . ]
hyman , l . v . , 1955 . the invertebrates : vol . iv . echinodermata . the coelomate bilateria . new york : mcgraw hill .
jncc ( joint nature conservation committee ) , 1999 . marine environment resource mapping and information database ( mermaid ) : marine nature conservation review survey database . [ on - line ] urltoken
kaiser , m . j . , ramsay , k . , richardson , c . a . , spence , f . e . & brand , a . r . , 2000 . chronic fishing disturbance has changed shelf sea benthic community structure . journal of animal ecology , 69 , 494 - 503 .
kinne , o . ( ed . ) , 1984 . marine ecology : a comprehensive , integrated treatise on life in oceans and coastal waters . vol . v . ocean management part 3 : pollution and protection of the seas - radioactive materials , heavy metals and oil . chichester : john wiley & sons .
lawrence , j . m . , 1975 . on the relationships between marine plants and sea urchins . oceanography and marine biology : an annual review , 13 , 213 - 286 .
macbride , e . w . , 1914 . textbook of embryology , vol . i , invertebrata . london : macmillan & co .
moore , p . g . , 1977a . inorganic particulate suspensions in the sea and their effects on marine animals . oceanography and marine biology : an annual review , 15 , 225 - 363 .
mortensen , t . h . , 1927 . handbook of the echinoderms of the british isles . london : humphrey milford , oxford university press .
national biodiversity network ( nbn ) atlas website . available from : http : / / www . nbnatlas . org . accessed 01 april 2017
nichols , d . , 1969 . echinoderms ( 4th ed . ) . london : hutchinson & co .
nichols , d . , 1981 . the cornish sea - urchin fishery . cornish studies , 9 , 5 - 18 .
pearce , c . m . , & scheibling , r . e . , 1990 . induction of metamorphosis of larvae of the green sea urchin , strongylocentrotus droebachiensis , by coralline red algae . biological bulletin , marine biological laboratory , woods hole , 179 , 304 - 311 .
penfold , r . , hughson , s . , & boyle , n . , 1996 . the potential for a sea urchin fishery in shetland . urltoken 2000 - 04 - 14
picton , b . e . & costello , m . j . , 1998 . biomar biotope viewer : a guide to marine habitats , fauna and flora of britain and ireland . [ cd - rom ] environmental sciences unit , trinity college , dublin . , urltoken
smith , j . e . ( ed . ) , 1968 . ' torrey canyon ' . pollution and marine life . cambridge : cambridge university press .
todd , c . d . , laverack , m . s . & boxshall , g . a . , 1996 . coastal marine zooplankton : a practical manual for students . 2nd ed . cambridge : cambridge university press .
ursin , e . , 1960 . a quantitative investigation of the echinoderm fauna of the central north sea . meddelelser fra danmark fiskeri - og - havundersogelser , 2 ( 24 ) , pp . 204 .
marine life information network ( marlin ) , the marine biological association of the uk ( see contact us ) © 2018 the marine biological association of the uk , all rights reserved .
the information ( text only ) provided by the marine life information network ( marlin ) is licensed under a creative commons attribution - non - commercial - share alike 2 . 0 uk : england & wales license . note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own terms and conditions and they may or may not be available for reuse . permissions beyond the scope of this license are available here . based on a work at urltoken
description : the common sea urchin in shallow water in the british isles . globular in shape and pink in colour . the spines are abundant , relatively short and more or less all of one size in larger specimens . up to 15cm . diameter .
habitat : an almost ubiquitous species on hard substrata in northern britain especially in the infralittoral zone where it grazes on algae and encrusting animals .
distribution : found around most of the british isles but becomes rare in s . devon and dorset and absent in the eastern part of the english channel . also reported to be absent in parts of anglesey and n . wales .
distribution map from nbn : interactive map : national biodiversity network mapping facility , data for uk .
test usually globular , more rarely depressed or subconical ; up to 16 cm in horizontal diameter . colour of test an intense red , on which the white spines are very conspicuous . more rarely it is pale purplish or pale green .
with few , usually thin , plates , mostly imbedded in the skin , which appears rather naked . three pore pairs in each ambulacral plate (
test closely covered with short spines , among which the primaries are scarcely conspicuous . in smaller specimens , the secondary spines are not as large as the primary ones . only every second or third ambulacral plate carries a primary spine .
are fairly large , usually with only one lateral tooth on each side , below the end tooth . tridentate
it is mostly found on hard - substrata with algae , but is found till depths of 1200 m .
in the north sea , the species is common in all areas with hard - substrata . elsewhere it is distributed from finmark and iceland to the coast of portugal . it is not known from the mediterranean .
mortensen , t . h . , 1927 . handbook of the echinoderms of the british isles . humphrey milford , oxford university press : 471 pp .
moyse , j . & p . a . tyler , 1990 . echinodermata . in : p . j . hayward & j . s . ryland ( eds ) : the marine fauna of the british isles and north - west europe , volume 2 , molluscs to chordates . clarendon press , oxford : 839 - 871 .
picton , b . e . , 1993 . a field guide to the shallow - water echinoderms of the british isles . immel publishing : 96 pp .
the external skeleton of the edible sea urchin is known as the ‘test’ , the colour of which may vary from pinkish - red to purple , green or yellow .
an omnivorous species , the edible sea urchin feeds on marine plants and invertebrates .
the common sea urchin browses on seaweeds and invertebrates ( 2 ) , moving along the sea floor by means of ' tube feet ' , which project out from the spines ( 4 ) . the mouth is located centrally on the underside of the test , and is furnished with a group of 5 specialised calcareous plates , known as an ' aristotle ' s lantern ' which acts as a jaw ( 4 ) .
the sexes are separate , breeding takes place in spring , and fertilisation is external ( 3 ) . a microscopic four - armed larval stage forms ; this ' echinopluteus ' larva is free - swimming and makes up an important part of the plankton for around 8 weeks , before undergoing a complex metamorphosis into a small urchin ( 3 ) . maturity is reached at between one and three years of age , and estimates of maximum lifespan vary from 10 to 16 years of age ( 3 ) .


mylodon is an extinct genus of ground sloth that lived in the patagonia ( argentina and chile ) area of south america until roughly 10,000 years ago .

mylodon

a delightfully grouchy looking ground sloth , mylodon darwinii . ( art by tabitha paterson )
you can download standardized annotation of the hemibarbus mylodon mitogenomic sequence via the links below .
mylodon went extinct in patagonia at the end of the last glacial period , about 10 , 000 years ago .
these fascinating statements caused an unprecedented popular uproar across the world and led to a
mylodon rush
and soon expeditions from several nations were crisscrossing patagonia in search of a live mylodon , the “mamifero misterioso” [ mysterious mammal ] .
ameghino’s mylodon paper irritated moreno who was sure that the skin that he had found was very old and did not belong to an extant mylodon as contended by ameghino . he also believed that ameghino had made up the “pangolin” story .
in 1898 about the mylodon , but it was not based on the mylodon cave’s skin ; he wrote about another skin that , according to him , had been found by his brother in santa cruz province , argentina . [ 4 ]
mylodon bones have been found in several patagonian sites , but the most famous is the mylodon cave ( 51°35′ s , 72°38′ w ) , located 25 km ( 15 . 5 mi . ) north of the chilean town of puerto natales ( see my map
in april 1899 a team led by dr . rudolph hauthal , a geologist who worked for moreno at la plata , did some additional excavations and retrieved more bones and mylodon dung . [ 1 ] based on their findings , they re - named the mylodon
owen and darwin also comapred the fossils to the genus megatherium – another type of giant ground sloth . mylodon and megatherium were once thought to be closely related , but are now considered to be different families . darwin’s bones were the type bones for mylodon .
description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth , mylodon robustus , owen , with observations on . . . megatherioid quadrupeds in general
lower jaw of the mylodon , a giant ground sloth that lived in patagonian south america from the pleistocene to about 10 , 000 years ago . the smooth molars indicate that the mylodon ate leaves and tender buds of trees . illustration from louis figuier ' s the w
this entry was posted in ground sloth and tagged beagle , charles darwin , cueva del milodon , dna , ermotherium , glyptodon clavipes , ground sloth , macrauchenia patachonica , megalonyx , mylodon cave , mylodon darwinii , nothrotheriops , richard owen , soft tissue . bookmark the permalink .
description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth , mylodon robustus , owen , with observations on . . . megatherioid quadrupeds in general /
the “rhinoceros” that darwin pulled out of the cliffs of punta alta a couple of days ago was actually the jaw of a mylodon – a giant ground sloth . in fact , richard owen called it mylodon darwinii – possibly the first species that darwin discovered to bear his name .
nobody’s quite sure what happened to the mylodon or why it eventually disappeared . it could be that , like so many other species , it was hunted to extinction by humans . or it could simply be that natural changes in the climate caused many of the plants it lived off to die out , leaving it without food . but one thing’s for sure , these days the closest you can get to a mylodon is visiting the mylodon’s cave !
ironically , both woodward’s and haupthal’s work indicated that the skin belonged to a pampean ground sloth of the grypotherium genus , very closely related to the mylodon but not a mylodon . thus the name neomylodon listai disappeared into oblivion . this pleased moreno as it disproved ameghino and deprived him of his moment of fame .
lower jaw of the mylodon , a giant ground sloth that lived in patagonian south america from the pleistocene to about 10 , 000 years ago . the smooth molars indicate that the mylodon ate leaves and tender buds of trees . illustration from louis figuier ' s the world before the deluge , 1867 american edition .
( a ) skull of mylodon darwinii as featured in reinhardt ( 1879 ) . ( b ) skull of glossotherium robustum as featured by owen ( 1842 ) .
details - description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth , mylodon robustus , owen , with observations on . . . megatherioid quadrupeds in general / - biodiversity heritage library
thanks for the comment john . here is a nice article discussing if mylodon darwinii did survive until around 150 years ago : click here . ( jan freedman . 21st september 2014 )
description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth , mylodon robustus , owen , with observations on the osteology , natural affinities , and probable habits of the megatherioid quadrupeds in general .
the skin was so remarkably preserved by the cold conditions in the cave that at its discovery some people hypothesised that the mylodon must have been killed recently . expeditions were sent out across patagonia looking for a live mylodon , however none was ever found and modern carbon dating techniques later placed the skin at anywhere from 10 , 200 to 13 , 560 years old .
( lista’s new mylodon ) after the late argentine explorer ramón lista who , according to ameghino , had actually seen and shot at one of these beasts a few years earlier [ 3 ] .
mylodon jaw fossil collected at punta alta , published by smith , elder & co , 65 cornhill , london ( from zoology of the voyage of the beagle vol . 1 , richard owen ) :
description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth , mylodon robustus , owen , with observations on . . . megatherioid quadrupeds in general : owen , richard : free download , borrow , and streaming : internet archive
mcafee , robert ,
description of new postcranial elements of mylodon darwinii owen 1839 ( mammalia : pilosa : mylodontinae ) , and functional morphology of the forelimb
( 2016 ) . pcom scholarly papers . 1851 . urltoken
' eubradys antiquus belongs to eubradys ' according to leidy 1853 ' eubradys antiquus is a subjective synonym of paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' eumylodon chapadmalensis belongs to eumylodon ' according to kraglievich 1925 ' eumylodon chapadmalensis is recombined as glossotherium chapadmalense ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' eumylodon chapadmalensis is recombined as glossotherium chapadmalense ' according to kraglievich 1928 ' megalonyx harlani is recombined as paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' megalonyx potens belongs to megalonyx ' according to leidy 1853 ' megalonyx potens is a subjective synonym of paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' mylodon garmani is a subjective synonym of paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' mylodon renidens is a subjective synonym of paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' mylodon sodalis is a subjective synonym of paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' mylodon sulcidens is a subjective synonym of paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' mylodon tenuceps belongs to mylodon ' according to stock 1917 ' mylodon tenuceps is a subjective synonym of paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' mylodon tenuceps is a subjective synonym of mylodon harlani ' according to stock 1925 ' nothrotherium graciliceps is a subjective synonym of nothrotheriops shastensis ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' nothrotherium shastense is recombined as nothrotheriops shastensis ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' nothrotherium texanum is recombined as nothrotheriops texanus ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' oryctotherium missouriense belongs to oryctotherium ' according to harlan 1841 ' oryctotherium missouriense is a subjective synonym of paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' oryctotherium oregonense belongs to oryctotherium ' according to perkins 1843 ' oryctotherium oregonense is a subjective synonym of paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' paramylodon nebrascensis is a subjective synonym of paramylodon harlani ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995 ' paramylodon belongs to mylodontidae ' according to h . g . mcdonald 1995
woodward , who had inspected the mylodon’s hide , correctly expressed his surprise that such a remarkable creature if still alive somewhere in patagonia had never been seen by any of the other scientists and explorers who had been in the region .
amongst the 15 or so new mammals identified by richard owen in the crates of fossils was the fairly large sloth , mylodon darwinii . this large beast was described on the basis of a jawbone and named in honour of its discoverer .
höss , m . , et al . ( 1996 ) , ‘molecular phylogeny of the extinct ground sloth mylodon darwinii ‘ , proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the u . s . a . , 93 , 181 - 85 . [ full article ]
mylodon probably subsisted on the foliage of trees and shrubs . well - developed claws were probably used to dig up tubers or to hold branches while the animal stripped them of leaves . mylodon and its relatives were the dominant group of south american ground sloths ; they are distinguished from other ground sloths by the presence of upper canine teeth , triangular cheek teeth , and a small first toe on the hind limbs . two closely related genera , paramylodon and glossotherium , were widely distributed and even spread into many regions of north america .
i ' m looking for information on expeditions at the beginning of the 20th century to find evidence of a living mylodon . you mention illing ( 1898 ) . do you know where i would find information on this , or other expeditions ( other than prichards ) ?
description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth , mylodon robustus , owen ; with observations on the osteology , natural affinities and probable habits of the megatherioid quadrupeds in general by owen , richard : r . and j . e . taylor / john van voorst hardcover - urltoken
[ … ] i actually wrote a little bit about one member of the mylodonitidae family last year when darwin extracted one of its jaw bones near punta alta . that particular species was ultimately named after darwin by richard owen ( for more on mylodon darwinii see darwin’s sloth ) . [ … ]
we ' re sorry ; this specific copy is no longer available . here are our closest matches for description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth , mylodon robustus , owen ; with observations on the osteology , natural affinities and probable habits of the megatherioid quadrupeds in general by owen , richard .
when during a lecture , the then leading british authority in zoology , sir edwin ray lankester announced that the mylodon may still be alive somewhere in patagonia , mr . pearson , the owner or london’s daily express newspaper quickly funded an expedition to hunt it down under the leadership of hesketh prichard . [ 5 ]
description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth , mylodon robustus , owen , with observations on the osteology , natural affinities , and probable habits of the megatherioid quadrupeds in general . by richard owen . conservator of the museum of the royal college of surgeons in london . pub . by direction of the council
ty - book ti - description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth , mylodon robustus , owen , with observations on . . . megatherioid quadrupeds in general / vl - 1842 ur - urltoken cy - london , py - 1842 au - owen , richard , au - hunterian museum ( royal college of surgeons ) er -
ameghino also said that at first he was puzzled by the description that lista gave of his pangolin and unsuccessfully tried to identify the animal . when he finally got a piece of the skin from his brother , he had no doubts that lista ' s pangolin was a variety of mylodon . its smaller ossicles implied that it was a smaller species .
the mylodon ' s cave has a gaping mouth , filled with toothy stalactites at the entrance . it’s hard to imagine today , but the cave was once a blank face of rock at the far extreme of a glacial lake . as patagonia’s wicked winds whipped up waves across the lake’s surface , they battered the sandstone cliff and gradually gouged out the cave .
though hauthal was convinced that there were no giant sloths alive anywhere in patagonia , several expeditions were sent to search for them such as illing’s ( 1898 ) at general paz lake and hesketh prichard’s ( 1900 / 1 ) , who covered 2 . 900 km ( 1 , 800 mi . ) along the southern andes . neither of them f0und any signs of mylodon .
the first part of the mylodon to be discovered was a portion of it’s hairy skin , which was found by german explorer hermann eberhard towards the end of the 19th century . taking the skin with him on his travels , questions soon arose about what sort of animal it could have come from , which piqued the interest of otto nordenskjöld who further explored the cave .
among these large sloths , was the mylodon , a herbivore about 3 m ( 10 ft . ) long , 1 , 5 m ( 5 ft . ) high and weighing more than one ton ( 2 , 204 lb . ) . its thick reddish haired hide was embedded with tiny dermal bones or “ossicles” . these bean - sized bones acted as flexible protective armor against predators .
. . . considering the atlas ( c1 ) , the wider occipital condyles of mylodon could be necessary to support its longer skull ( ~ 3 cm longer , sensu esteban , mcafee , 2007 and is well developed as in many other sloths and xenarthrans . the proximal end is displaced , with a medial flare that likely serves as mechanism for reorienting the line of action for elbow extension . . . .
it was here at mylodon that i met grace , girlfriend 2 . a wren writer , who worked for the master at arms . we were together in that camp right up to when we were demobbed . the rest is as they say history , grace has always said that she should not have gone out with somebody also on the base staff , it stopped her meeting other boys , and she would certainly have got many others , she was such a looker . in lowestoft we started having potato and gravy pies probably the forerunner of the instant food shops like mcdonalds . at this time i advanced to leading wireman . it was now the run up time to the dday landings , this combined with the geographical position of lowestoft mylodon was in the forefront of perations . i was pleased that having gone through the london blitz i was playing evens a small part in the final stage of the war . although my part was fairly modest it was a good feeling . ve day celebrations came and went in lowestoft and our duties changed to decommissioning the landing craft along the banks of the river . following vj day with everyone being demobbed , mylodon by then had become a demobb centre i drew the short straw and had to stay and decommission the base .
. . . glossotherium the surface is deeper and shorter . the radial notch that articulates with the head of the radius is ovate , concave , and transversely expanded , although its width is less than that in glossotherium ( mcafee , 2007 ) . the interosseous membrane ridge / scar is rather straight as it extends from the lateral point of the capitulum and radial notch toward the distal end in glossotherium but the ridge exhibits a more meandering course in mylodon . . . .
since the first discovery of the mylodon skin in 1895 , the remains of ancient humans have been found in the cave along with the bones of many animals that are now extinct , such as sabre - toothed cats , dwarf horses and litopternas ( a kind of hoofed mammal ) . there are so many bones and remains in the cave that it has been theorised that early humans used the cave as a natural trap , herding wild animals inside so they could be easily killed and eaten .
. . . which the forelimb elements all represent the left side of the animal . this specimen is a young adult as the radius , ulna , and other elements in this specimen show incomplete growth and fusion ; the skull dimensions are also smaller than other mylodon specimens ( esteban mcafee , 2007 ) . comparisons are also made to ypm 15696 ( glos sotherium robustum ; complete right forearm except for the scaphoid ) , which has elements that conform to the radial fig . 2 ) . . .
on the approach to the mylodon’s cave you take a well - maintained path through lenga and ñirre trees , which are both kinds of nothofagus trees native to southern south america . draped in old man’s beard lichen , the wood has an enchanted feel that makes it even more bizarre when you see the silhouette of a giant sloth , dwarf horse and saber - toothed cat peeking between the tree trunks . fortunately , the silhouettes are just life - sized representations designed to give visitors an idea of scale .
we now know that this was all wishful thinking ; the pen’s “rock walls” were just cave - ins of the cave’s ceiling . it is also likely that the animals clustered in caves for company or were dragged there by the some non - human predator . the mylodon remains from eberhardt cave have been dated to 10 , 832 + / - 400 years bp and 12 , 984 + / - 76 years for droppings and bone collagen respectively ; [ 13 ] coincidental with the end of the megafauna’s era .
@ book { bhl104843 , title = { description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth , mylodon robustus , owen , with observations on . . . megatherioid quadrupeds in general / } , volume = { 1842 } , copyright = { public domain . the bhl considers that this work is no longer under copyright protection } , url = urltoken note = urltoken publisher = { london , } , author = { owen , richard , and hunterian museum ( royal college of surgeons ) } , year = { 1842 } , pages = { 284 } , }
eberhard took this piece of skin and hung it on a tree by his home and when dr . nils otto gustaf nordenskjöld ( 1869 - 1928 ) , a swedish geologist , geographer , and polar explorer visited the region a year later , he showed him the skin . nordenskjöld , quickly guessed that it belonged to some extinct creature and did some digging in the cave , unearthing bones and dung which , together with more pieces of skin , were sent back to sweden , where dr . einar lönnberg would later ( 1899 ) identify it as belonging to a mylodon . [ 2 ] [ 3 ]
lestodon is the most represented taxon among the xenarthrans and also from the whole sample studied for uruguay ( table ii ) . the nisp of lestodon from uruguay represents 31 % of the remains ( 479 specimens ) and its abundance is 9 % of the individuals present in the total studied fauna . among the most represented sloths , glossotherium follows , whose nisp corresponds to 4 % of the total sample studied ( 57 specimens ) and its abundance represents 1 . 4 % of the individuals . for megatherium the nisp of the uruguayan sample only represents 1 % of the remains ( 9 specimens ) and its abundance represents 0 . 1 % of the individuals . scelidotherium ' s nisp is very small , 0 . 3 % ( 5 specimens ) , and so its abundance was of 0 . 1 % , although mylodon presents even lower values , with a nisp of only 0 . 1 % ( 2 specimens ) and an abundance that represents 0 . 05 % of the individuals of the studied fauna .
for the total remains studied from the province of buenos aires ( table iii ) , the most represented taxon among the xenarthrans and among the whole analysed sample is scelidotherium ( nisp = 293 specimens ) , since its remains constitute 15 % of the studied fossils from the province and its abundance represents 9 % of the individuals . the second most represented taxon of the whole sample is glossotherium , whose nisp reaches 14 % of the studied remains ( 274 specimens ) and its abundance represents 7 % of the individuals . megatherium ' s nisp corresponds to 9 % of the remains ( 164 specimens , third place ) , and its abundance is 3 % of the individuals analysed in this fauna . among sloths , l . armatus follows , whose nisp represents 4 % of the studied remains ( 83 specimens ) and its abundance corresponds to 2 % of the individuals of the analysed fauna . finally , mylodon ' s nisp corresponds just to 2 % of the studied remains ( 34 specimens ) and its abundance to 1 % .
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a fauna de mamíferos do pleistoceno da américa do sul inclui animais de grande tamanho que têm despertado o interesse dos cientistas durante mais de dois séculos . aqui tencionamos atualizar o conhecimento da sua paleoecologia e disponibilizar nova evidência a respeito de dois enfoques : energética vs . densidade populacional e abundância relativa de taxa fósseis . para determinar se as faunas estavam balanceadas , modelos de densidade populacional foram aplicados a várias faunas sulamericanas e os resultados comparados com os que melhor descrevem a paleoecologia das faunas africanas . os resultados dos estudos de abundância para a o uruguai e a província de buenos aires durante o piso / idade lujanense revelam que as preguiças comedoras de vulto ( lestodon e glossotherium ) foram mais abundantes no primeiro território . no entanto , os mais seletivos scelidotherium e megatherium eram mais abundantes no segundo . embora os valores obtidos tinham sido corrigidos para evitar tendenciamentos tafonômicos de tamanho , as regressões lineares de abundância vs . massa corporal não se ajustaram ao esperado para consumidores primários e secundários . as faunas do pleistoceno da américa do sul se comportam diferentemente do que os modelos atualistas sugerem . mudanças no nível do mar e , portanto , da área disponível poderiam dar conta dessas diferenças ; a possibilidade de que uma grande planície aluvial na área hoje submersa poderia explicar mudanças estacionais , o que poderia modificar os cálculos da energética e da abundância .
there are also other reasons for why the lujanian fauna causes fascination : one of its members , megatherium , was studied under a modern palaeontological approach as early as the final years of the 18 th century by cuvier himself ( cuvier 1796 ) and , even before that , it was the first extinct vertebrate reconstructed in life position ( bru de ramón 1784 - 1786 ) . only a few decades later did the megafauna become one of the major sources of inspiration for darwin ' s ideas on evolution ( vizcaíno et al . 2009 ) .
it should be added to former reasons the very large size of several of its members , as many species are proposed to have had adult body masses above one tonne ( fariña et al . 1998 , 2013 , bargo et al . 2000 , vizcaíno et al . 2012 ) . moreover , their palaeoautecological traits are very peculiar and the studies on their palaeosynecology ( fariña 1996 ) have shown unexpected trophic relationships , as discussed below .
determination of the number of individuals per taxa present in a fossil assemblage is a prerequisite to perform many palaeoecological studies , especially those that involve relative or absolute abundance populations ( badgley 1986 ) . taphonomic context of an assemblage provides information to choose the appropriate quantification method : in this work the relative abundance in the lujanian community will be assessed using damuth ' s ( 1982 ) model , and such outcome will be integrated with those of the reanalysis just described above .
all of the taxa found in the luján local fauna and listed in tonni et al . ( 1985 ) were classified according to their probable diet . nomenclature and taxonomy were updated as per prevosti and vizcaíno ( 2006 ) , soibelzon et al . ( 2005 ) and other sources . the masses of the extinct taxa were taken from previous estimations in literature ( smith et al . 2003 ) . those species whose masses were estimated to have been less than 10 kg were not considered in order to avoid the problem of the biases in fossilisation , preservation , and collection ( behrensmeyer and hill 1980 , damuth 1982 , see fariña 1996 for further discussion ) .
to estimate the population density of each herbivorous species , the general equation in damuth ( 1981 ) was used : log d = - 0 . 75 log m + 4 . 23
where d is population density in number of individuals per square kilometre , and m is the body mass expressed in grams . this equation is empirical and was obtained from the study of many diverse modern ecosystems . the standard error of the slope is 0 . 026 . if the average minus one s . e . were used rather than - 0 . 75 there would be no important differences in the results .
the basal metabolic rate of these herbivores was recalculated , as per fariña ( 1996 ) , following the equation in peters ( 1983 ) : log r = - 0 . 25 log m + 0 . 6128 where r is the per - second mass - specific metabolic rate ( in j kg –1 s –1 ) , and m is the body mass expressed in grams .
due to sound thermodynamical reasons related to the loss of free energy as the trophic level increases , and to biomechanical reasons related to limb bone strength allometry ( sorkin 2008 ) , the modern carnivora are known to be less abundant than their potential prey . thus , a different equation must be used to estimate their population density ; that obtained by damuth ( 1993 ) for african flesh - eaters ( same symbols as above ) : log d = - 0 . 64 log m + 2 . 23 .
the basal metabolic rate of species belonging to carnivora is also described by a specific formula , because predators tend to consume more energy than herbivores , even at rest , and that , other things being equal , expenditure tends to be even higher as body size increases . thus , an appropriate equation , also from peters ( 1983 ) , was used : log r = - 0 . 27 log m + 0 . 6551 .
pleistocene : apart from luján , this model was also tested in other 14 south american faunas ( see fig 1 ) . faunal lists were obtained from the paleobiology database and the criterion for choosing them was the presence of at least two carnivore species within them . body masses were obtained from smith et al . ( 2003 ) and other sources ( casamiquela 1984 , hartwig and cartelle 1996 , pomi 2008 ) .
linear regressions for the five models applied to the fifteen south american faunas . all variables are given in j m –2 year –1 . dotted line represents the regression and solid line the expected ratio ( slope = 1 ) .
four more models were also tested in these faunas . the first one was a modification of the calculation of population density for the carnivores , since this was an important issue of debate in prevosti and vizcaíno ( 2006 ) . the equation was obtained from carbone and gittleman ( 2002 ) : log d = - 0 . 88 m + 2 . 296 , where d is the population density expressed in individuals per 100 km 2 and m is the body mass in kg .
the second new model was a modification of the model in fariña ( 1996 ) in the calculation of the secondary productivity . this was made following western ( 1983 ) : log p = 0 . 67 log m s + log n + 1 . 14 , where p is the net productivity expressed in kcal km –2 year –1– n is the population density ( individuals per km 2 ) and m s is the equivalent in kcal of the animal ' s body mass . in order to obtain m s the body mass in gr was multiplied by the caloric value of the mammalian body , 1 . 5 kcal g –1 ( banse and mosher 1980 , western 1983 ) . production values were transformed into j m –2 year –1 in order for them to be comparable to the values of the carnivore ' s energetic requirements .
the third new model was a mixture of both the first and second models . population density of the carnivores was calculated following carbone and gittleman ( 2002 ) and secondary productivity was calculated following western ( 1983 ) .
the fourth new model changed the way population density was calculated , as well as the secondary productivity . the population density was calculated following silva et al . ( 2001 ) . the equations used were those for herbivores and carnivores :
carnivores : log d = 1 . 41 – 1 . 83 ( log m ) – 0 . 34 ( log m 2 ) + 0 . 28 ( log m 3 )
where d is the population density expressed in individuals per square km , and m their body mass in kg . secondary productivity was calculated following western ( 1983 ) .
in all the models used , if there was a difference of 15 % between the secondary productivity and the carnivores energetic requirements , the fauna was considered balanced .
regarding the remains from the province of buenos aires , two different counts were performed : one involving all the specimens assigned to the lujanian age , and a differential one including only the remains from the local faunas of luján , paso otero and quequén salado - indio rico . each of these localities owns a characteristic local fauna that considered together define the typical faunistical association of the lujanian .
the masses of the studied taxa were taken as per the energetics section and also from gonzález ( 2001 ) and toledo ( 1996 ) .
to estimate abundance the counts were based on the number of identified specimens ( nisp ) , understanding that specimen refers to a bone , tooth or fragment ( klein and cruz - uribe 1984 ) . mni counts tend to diminish values of the most common species and overestimate those of odd species ( damuth 1982 , arribas and palmqvist 1998 ) . nisp counts did not consider glyptodont scutes nor cervid antlers .
if the model used in fariña ( 1996 ) is applied to fifteen south american faunas , including the luján local fauna , and the secondary productivity is compared to the energetic requirements of the carnivores , then no faunas are ecologically balanced ( table i ) and the relationship between these two variables is rather weak ( r 2 = 0 . 3 ; figure 1a ) . the first new model applied here ( modified from fariña 1996 ) does not show any balanced faunas either , and the relationship between both variables is weak ( r 2 = 0 . 28 ; table i , figure 1b ) .
secondary productivity of the herbivores and requirements of the carnivores for south american faunas . coloured cells indicate balanced faunas .
the productivity model shows that there are only three balanced faunas in this continent ( table i ) . the regression shows that the secondary productivity and the carnivores ' requirements are not closely related ( r 2 = 0 . 3 ; figure 1c ) . the model that combines productivity and carnivore density shows similar results to those obtained using the first model ( table i , figure 2d ) .
the last model , i . e . , productivity + silva et al . ( 2001 ) , indicates that there are two balanced faunas in south america ( table i ) , and that the relationship between the variables is even worse than that seen in the other models ( r 2 = 0 . 16 ; figure 1e ) . the present fauna of the serengeti was included as an actualistic control and was found to be balanced with this model .
the uruguayan sample analysed is composed of 1568 specimens ( nisp ) , 81 of them juveniles . a percentage of 4 . 5 % ( 71 specimens ) was identified at the order level , while 20 . 7 % ( 324 specimens ) were classified at the family or subfamily level and the remaining 74 . 8 % ( 1173 specimens ) were classified at the generic level .
the sample from the province of buenos aires includes 1889 specimens ( nisp ) , 51 of them juveniles . a percentage of 0 . 4 % ( 7 specimens ) was identified at the order level , 4 . 1 % ( 77 specimens ) were classified at the family or subfamily level and 95 . 5 % ( 1805 specimens ) were identified at the generic level .
taxa counts of primary ( a ) and secondary ( b ) consumers in the considered sample for uruguay , including size category , estimated body mass , number of specimens ( adults / juveniles , nisp ) and estimated relative abundance .
taxa counts of primary ( a ) and secondary ( b ) consumers in the considered sample for the province of buenos aires , including size category , estimated body mass , number of specimens ( adults / juveniles , nisp ) and estimated relative abundance .
with regard to the size categories in primary consumers , the most represented one in uruguay was category ii ( between 10 and 100 kg ) including 13 taxa . in the province of buenos aires and the localities of luján , paso otero and quequén salado - indio rico , the most represented body size category was the iii ( between 100 and 1000 kg ) , with 13 and 12 taxa respectively .
the discussion will follow the main topics addressed in this paper ( energetics and abundance ) and other subjects that can provide additional information relevant to the results presented here : food preferences and abundance , size of predators and isotopes .
in the model employed in fariña ( 1996 ) , the luján local fauna was not balanced . however , this model explained well the ecology of other local faunas : venta micena , lower pleistocene of spain ( palmqvist et al . 2003 ) , chapadmalalan and barranca de los lobos , plio - pleistocene of argentina ( vizcaíno et al . 2004 ) , puesto la costa and campo barranca , miocene of argentina ( vizcaíno et al . 2010 ) . as said above , these results rely on the condition of the models being taxon - free , hence independent of phylogenetical variables ( although they are included in the inference of the basal metabolism ) . this is why a phororhacid ( a large predatory tertiary running bird ) was included in the energetic calculations of the miocene faunas of argentina studied in vizcaíno et al . ( 2010 ) .
it was also very useful as a starting point to develop other mathematical models that tried to explain the peculiar ecology of the megamammals that inhabited the continent .
prevosti and vizcaíno ( 2006 ) suggested that the approach used in fariña ( 1996 ) was not accurate , since the carnivore population densities were not the ones found by this author . according to the authors , who compiled the information from several sources about carnivore population ecology , they stress that those populations are affected by several ecological factors that should have been taken into account , like prey abundance and diseases . these authors also suggested that the mylodontids should have been less abundant , given their low metabolic rates .
it is important to address the fact that prevosti and vizcaíno ( 2006 ) studied only one side of the imbalance proposed by fariña ( 1996 ) , i . e . , the relationship between the secondary productivity and the requirements of the carnivores . fariña ( 1996 ) showed that there was another side to that imbalance , the primary productivity in the luján local fauna having been too low for the herbivores to survive . again in this case , it should be noted that these models are time - averaged ( see below ) , i . e . they are instantaneous and not dynamic simulations , such as the evolutionary impact on species populations by a new predator ( see , for instance , alroy 2001 ) . this issue was not considered in the models used , since there was not enough data on primary productivity in the different areas of the south american continent to make comparisons with .
even though the analysed faunas were corrected in order to avoid taphonomic biases , in all the studied cases the obtained values for the slope in the graph of abundance vs . body mass did not fit damuth ' s ( 1982 ) model ( - 1 . 05±0 . 25 ) : log a = - 1 . 05 ( log m ) .
as proposed by damuth ( 1982 ) , the “assemblage” studied does not need to be very defined : the fauna of a whole formation can be considered as an assemblage if we suspect that it is the same community of individuals ( again , vaguely defined ) . in this sense , the fossiliferous localities considered in the analysis for uruguay and the province of buenos aires correspond to the studied temporal lapse ; for this reason , it is assumed that the registered taxa are members of the same palaeocommunity . the specimens from the localities included in the counting , constitute a random sample of the then hypothetic living assemblage .
it must be taken into account that the classification of the studied taxa into certain ecological feeding categories following miljutin ( 2009 ) , where within the primary consumers we include the herbivorous and the frugivorous taxa , and within the secondary consumers the animalivorous taxa , reflects an a priori categorization that might imply some difference with the real habits of the taxa . for example , conepatus , described as an omnivorous mainly insectivorous ( gonzález 2001 ) was included within the secondary consumers .
regarding the abundance of secondary consumers presented in this work , all the registered genera in the studied region were counted ( 9 for the analysed sample from uruguay , table iib , and 11 for the province of buenos aires sample , table iiib ) , resulting in a greater number of studied taxa than in the original analysis ( fariña 1996 ) . this increment is also due to the inclusion of minor size taxa such as dusicyon and lontra , which results in a higher number of secondary consumers than the registered in south american tertiary faunas and is also consistent with observations in extant south american faunas ( prevosti and vizcaíno 2006 and their references ) .
finally , in the studied sample for uruguay lestodon armatus is the most represented taxon ( nisp = 31 % ) and its abundance corresponds to 9 % of the studied fauna . the records of megatherium and scelidotherium in uruguay are scarce : nisp of the sample reaches only 1 and 0 . 3 % of the studied specimens , respectively , and its abundances 0 . 1 and 0 . 05 % of the individuals of the studied fauna . in contrast , in the province of buenos aires , scelidotherium is the most represented taxon of the sample ( nisp = 15 % ) and its abundance is similar to that observed for l . armatus in uruguay ( 9 % ) , whereas megatherium constitutes the third most represented taxon ( nisp = 9 % of the studied specimens ) and its estimated abundance is 3 % of the individuals analysed in this fauna , hardly greater that the observed for l . armatus ( 2 % ) .
sloths muzzle analyses developed by bargo ( 2001a ) and bargo et al . ( 2006 a , b ) propose that in megatherium americanum and scelidotherium leptocephalum narrower muzzles are indicative of selective or mixed feeder habits , and their prensile lips were used to select plants or parts of plants . mcdonald ( 1997 , cited in bargo et al . 2006b ) stated that s . leptocephalum probably looked for buried food with the help of its forelimbs , even if it could also feed on other vegetation closer to the substrate level .
preliminary observations of growth lines on glyptodont teeth suggest the potential for reconstruction of many aspects of the life history of these mammals , including the search for seasonal periodicities and growth rhythms .
the averages of the obtained values of δ 13 c for lestodon armatus from uruguay ( - 18 . 8 % , czerwonogora et al . 2011 ) and glossotherium robustum from the province of buenos aires ( - 20 . 5 % , czerwonogora et al . 2011 ) indicate a preference for c3 vegetation and rather open environments , similar to those currently found in northern patagonia . those results are compatible with the ones obtained in modern primary consumers in open habitats ( deniro and epstein 1978 ) .
moreover , those high values of 15 n are congruent with some marks found in a fragmentary left rib of a very large mammal , probably a giant sloth or a mastodont . the spacing of the damage marks fits well with the distance between the mesiodistal lophs of the teeth ( fariña 2002 ) .
african mammalian faunas in the pleistocene are very similar ( if not identical ) to those existing today , so the model that best explains their dynamics could be the starting point used to study other faunas in the rest of the continents . the south american mammals that lived in the pleistocene are different from those existing today , so the model may have to be modified to address this issue . however , this cannot be done until the faunas in the paleobiology database are improved both in number of species and in quantity .
one could then speculate on the possibility that mammals might have experienced seasonal migrations , which would have resulted in a more efficient usage of vegetation by the herbivores . the dramatic reduction of the available area subsequent to the end of the glacial period , together with the effects of the end - pleistocene human arrival in the americas , must have been crucial factors in the extinction of this fauna .
all these approaches open new and exciting possibilities for future research on the unique and bizarre mammals from south america , whose design and evolutionary history captivated george gaylord simpson and many others like us .
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