Although Lytechinus semitubercultus has not been recorded in Panamanian waters, it is possible that L. panamensis might represent juvenile L. semituberculatus as Zigler and Lessios’s (2004) phylogeny of Lytechinus places the cytochrome oxidase I of L. panamensis squarely among sequences of L. semituberculatus. However, there are distinct morphological differences between these species which suggest they are good species.
Mortensen, T. (1943). A monograph of the Echinoidea 3(2). Camarodonta 1. Copenhagen. 553 pp., 321 figures, 56 pls. pages: 456-459.
Zigler K.S. & Lessios, H. A. (2004). Speciation on the coasts of the new world: Phylogeography and the evolution of bindin in the sea urchin genus Lytechinus. Evolution, 58:1225-1241.
LSID urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:513379
