Metalia spatagus ( Linnaeus 1758 )

Yiu, Sam King Fung & Mah, Christopher L., 2024, New Ecological Observations and Occurrence for Asteroidea and Echinoidea in Hong Kong, Zootaxa 5526 (1), pp. 1-69 : 29

Metalia spatagus ( Linnaeus 1758)

FIGURE 19A–D

Comments

This is the first occurrence of this species in Hong Kong. Denuded tests of this species were recovered from Ninepin Islands and Bluff Island ( Table 1 ). Liao & Clark (1995) noted that this species was very abundant in the Xisha Islands, and was always present buried in coral sand under rock fragments. They reported that abundance of this species reached a maximum of 100 individuals per square meter. However, it is more rarely seen in Hong Kong with only two sightings of this species from local sheltered and coral settings.

Occurrence/Distribution

Hong Kong, 10–15 m.

Outside Hong Kong. Southern China. Broadly distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific from East Africa and the Red Sea to the Hawaiian Islands, 0–130 m.

Figures

FIGURE 19. Metalia spatagus dried test. A. Aboral surface. B. Oral surface. C–D. Lateral views.