Historical Echinoderm Species Records from the Kimberley Marine Region

382 shallow water echinoderm species records were collated from Australian state museum specimens in the Kimberley region. The dataset, provided by Parks Australia, highlights research relevant to Australian Marine Parks and was last updated in July 2026. It is used to discuss taxonomic gaps, cross-shelf biodiversity patterns, and biogeography.

Use Cases

• Analyze species richness and composition based on cross-shelf patterns mentioned in the description
• Identify taxonomic and geographic collection gaps based on the documented sampling bias towards hard substrates and inshore areas
• Study biogeographic distributions and endemic species patterns based on the comparison of inshore versus offshore records
• Inform conservation planning based on the noted higher number of endemic species recorded inshore

Strengths

• Contains records for 382 distinct shallow water echinoderm species
• Provides a historical baseline for biodiversity in the Kimberley region, comparable to adjacent areas like the Pilbara and Great Barrier Reef
• Highlights specific research gaps such as under-sampled soft sediment areas and subtidal zones

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data may reflect geographic and substrate sampling bias inherent to historical museum collections

Provenance

Source

Parks Australia, collated from Australian state museum specimen records

Collection Method

Collation of historical specimen records from museum collections

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-16 23:08:46.267809; freshness should be verified

Geography

Kimberley region of Australia, shallow waters (<30 m depth)