Biogeographic distribution

E. mathaei have a wide geographic distribution, and are found throughout the Indo-Pacific region, extending from the Hawaiian islands in the central Pacific to the Eastern coast of Africa (McCartney et al., 2000). In the Pacific Ocean, populations have been found through most tropical waters from Japan to Australia, and out to Hawaii. These urchins are also found throughout the Western side of the Indian ocean, from the Persian gulf and the Red sea, down to South Africa, however few specimens have been found on the Eastern side of the Indian ocean (McClanahan and Muthiga, 2007). These urchins inhabit the reef flats, lagoons and rocky shores of the tropics and are found at depths of up to 10m (Muthiga and Jaccarini, 2005).

Figure 1. Geographic distribution of E.mathaei. Areas shaded in red represent the distribution of the urchin.