Abstract
IT has long been known that certain littoral echinoids habitually cover the parts of their body that are exposed to light by fragments taken from their surroundings. Some have interpreted this as a concealing reaction, or, in part at least, as a response to strong light, or as a defence against desiccation and temperature extremes resulting from exposure at low tide; others remained non-committal. Lytechinus variegatus(Lamarck) shows the response in striking fashion1 and, in Jamaica, in habitats where it is never exposed by tides. The response has been examined in these laboratories.
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References
Boone, L., Bull. Bingham Ocean. Coll., 1 (4), 1 (1925). Mortensen, Th., “Monograph of the Echinoidea”, 3, 2, Pt. 1, 433 (Copenhagen, 1943).
Clark, H. L., “Scientific Survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands”, 16, Pt. 1, 81 (New York Academy of Sciences, 1933).
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MILLOTT, N. The Covering Reaction in a Tropical Sea Urchin. Nature 175, 561 (1955). https://doi.org/10.1038/175561a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/175561a0
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