Pourtalesia debilis
| Pourtalesia debilis | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pourtalesia debilis | ||||||||||||
| Koehler , 1926 |
Pourtalesia debilis is a representative of the irregular sea urchins from the family Pourtalesiidae. The benthic species inhabits the soft sediments in the deep sea and has been found in the Antarctic Ocean at depths between 192 and 6290 m.
features
The Pourtalesiiden are irregular sea urchins, i. H. the animals are bilaterally symmetrical . The specimens of Pourtalesia debilis examined so far reached a length of 26 mm. The casing of the bottle-shaped animals is less than half as wide as it is long. The anterior surface is convex. Posteriorly, the casing ends in a rounded rostrum, which is surrounded by a subanal fasciole. The spines are smooth and run in short rows along the sides of the animal.
The lantern of Aristotle , which is characteristic of most sea urchins and which is used to pick up and chop up food particles, is missing in these animals.
ecology
The irregular deep-sea sea urchins are detritus eaters that eat the sea snow that has settled down from the upper water layers . They eat the sediment sludge and filter out the nutrients that they can use.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Schultz, Heinke AG: Handbook of Zoology. Echinoidea: with bilateral symmetry. Irregularia. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, Berlin, ISBN 3-11-036853-6 , p. 131 .
- ^ A b WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Pourtalesia debilis Koehler, 1926. Retrieved on May 1, 2019 .