Comatulidae Fleming, 1828

Kogo, Ichizo, Fujita, Toshihiko & Kubodera, Tsunemi, 2019, Shallow-water Comatulids (Echinodermata: Crinoidea) from Ambon and Lombok Islands, Indonesia, Species Diversity 24, pp. 229-246 : 230

Family Comatulidae Fleming, 1828 Comatella nigra ( Carpenter, 1888)

Actinometra nigra Carpenter, 1888: 304 (key).

Comatella nigra —A. H. Clark 1908c: 208; 1909a: 395; 1911a: 530; 1912a: 69, fig. 1; 1913: 3; 1918: 5, pl. 1; 1931: 92, pl. 1 fig. 1, pl. 2 fig. 2, pl. 3 fig. 3; Reichensperger 1913: 83; H. L. Clark 1915: 101, 192; 1946: 25; A. M. Clark and Rowe 1971: 15 (key); Gibbs et al. 1976: 110; Meyer and Macurda 1980: 83; Chen et al. 1988: 76, fig. 5; Fabricius 1994: 1228 (table); Messing 1994: 239, 1998b: 189 (table); 2007: 99; Rowe and Gates 1995: 147; Lane et al. 2000: 476 (table); Kogo and Fujita 2005: 326; Mekhova and Britayev 2012: 917.

Comatella sp. aff. nigra — Kogo 2002: 4, fig. 3.

Material examined. 13 specimens. Ambon Is. NSMT E-8146 (1 specimen), Latuhalat , 10 m, December 1, 1992; NSMT E-8153 (1), Silale, 15 m, December 2, 1992 . Lombok Is. NSMT E-8196 (1), Gili Air I ., February 3, 1994; NSMT E-8207 (1), E-8209 (1), E-8217 (1), E-8218 (1), E-8227 (1), E-8228 (2), E-8231 (1), E-8237 (1), Gili Air I ., February 5, 1994; NSMT E-8253 (1), Kodek, February 15, 1994 .

Description. Centrodorsal large, thin discoidal, circular in aboral view, 6–9 mm across, 1–2 mm thick, with cirrus sockets in 1–2 irregular rows. Cirri XXIII–XLII, 20–29, 15– 28 mm long. Longest 2–3 cirrals (in 5 th –10 th) 1.2 times longer than wide; cirrals beyond about 10 th with a low distal transverse ridge; 6–7 distal ones with a blunt aboral spine. Radials wholly concealed by centrodorsal or narrowly exposed. Division series very short. IBr 2; Ibr 1 oblong, with proximal sides in contact laterally; Ibr 2 (axil) triangular or rhombic, free laterally. II–IVBr all 2: IIIBr or IVBr twisted outward, consequently rays not in a plane. Arms 20–50 (usually 38–45), 80–115 mm long; first syzygy at br 1+2 and second syzygy at br 3+4; middle brachials beyond br 5 much shorter than wide with oblique articulation; distal brachial margin everted and spiny. P 1 excessively longer than other proximal pinnules, 21–25 mm long, of 47–60 segments; combs of 13–22 teeth confluent with inner edge of pinnulars. Pinnule combs to P 4 –P 6, rarely to P 7 –P 10. First 2 pinnulars of P 2 –P 4 with a large fin-like expansion.

Distribution. Southern Vietnam ( Mekhova and Britayev 2012); Indonesia, northern Australia, Philippines (A. M. Clark and Rowe 1971); Great Barrier Reef ( Gibbs et al. 1976; Fabricius 1994); South China Sea ( Lane et al. 2000); Papua New Guinea ( Messing 1998b). Depth range: 0–120 m ( Lane et al. 2000).