ABSTRACT
The fauna of the Arctic Ocean contains 183 species of echinoderms belonging to 107 genera, 54 families, and 25 orders. However, more than half are Atlantic boreal species, penetrating the Arctic along the Norwegian coast with the Norwegian current and its branches. Six Pacific boreal species penetrate only the south-eastern part of the Chukchi Sea. The fauna of the Arctic biogeographic region consists of 79 species belonging to 50 genera, 28 families, and 20 orders. Biogeographic content of the Arctic fauna is as follows: Atlantic boreal-Arctic species (21 spp, 32,3%), Pacific boreal-Arctic species (21 spp, 32.3%), endemic Arctic species (20 spp, 30.4%), wide-ranging boreal-Arctic species (15 spp, 18.8%). The recent fauna of Arctic echinoderms is closely related to that of the North Atlantic. It is possible, however, that species widely spread both in the Atlantic and Pacific and some Atlantic boreal-Arctic species are of Pacific origin. Most echinoderms inhabiting the Arctic have a wide range of vertical distribution. Deep water fauna is represented by 11 species, 10 of which occur only in the Arctic basin.
