Lithosoma Fisher 1911

Mah, Christopher L., 2018, New genera, species and occurrence records of Goniasteridae (Asteroidea; Echinodermata) from the Indian Ocean, Zootaxa 4539 (1), pp. 1-116 : 51

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4539.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2C72727B-79C5-407F-BD92-B12F98196800
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5990768
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/193787A0-FFD0-FFAD-F4CB-FC144782CC15
treatment provided by	Plazi (2019-03-28 16:04:18, last updated 2024-11-28 19:27:13)
scientific name	Lithosoma Fisher 1911
status

Treatment

Lithosoma Fisher 1911 View in CoL

Fisher 1911: 422; 1919: 298; Macan 1938: 398; McKnight 1973: 189; H.E.S. Clark & McKnight 2001: 62.

Diagnosis. Body stellate to strongly stellate, arms elongate, triangular in shape, tapering distally ( Fig. 19A View FIGURE 19 ). Disk broad. Abactinal surface smooth, bare with no surficial accessories. Crystalline bosses embedded on plate surface. Individual plates abutted, polygonal in outline. Superomarginal plates abutted over midline along the arm ( Figs 19A, B View FIGURE 19 ). Marginal and actinal plates smooth, bare with no surficial accessories.

Comments. Lithosoma comprises a widespread species complex known only from deep-water settings in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, extending from New Zealand to southern Japan, New Caledonia, and west to the eastern coast of Africa and the northern Indian Ocean.

Lithosoma species show relatively few discrete character differences, varying primarily based on continuous characters (e.g. number of furrow spines, number of plates abutted over midradius) and/or those characters which vary by differing degrees of expression (e.g. superomarginal plates thickened, interradial arcs curved versus angular). As a consequence, species boundaries with Lithosoma have not always been clearly delineated with some species showing character overlap. Further revision of this group is needed.

References

Clark, H. E. S. & McKnight, D. G. (2001) The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Echinodermata: Asteroidea (sea-stars), Order Valvatida. NIWA Biodiversity Memoir, 117, 1 - 270.

Fisher, W. K. (1911) Asteroidea of the North Pacific and adjacent waters. 1. Phanerozonia and Spinulosida. Bulletin of the US National Museum, 76, xiii + 1 - 420. https: // doi. org / 10.5479 / si. 03629236.76. i

Macan, T. T. (1938) Asteroidea. British Museum of Natural History, John Murray Expedition 1933 - 34, Scientific Reports, IV (9), 324 - 432.

McKnight, D. G. (1973) Additions to the asteroid fauna of New Zealand: family Goniasteridae. New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Records, 1 (13), 171 - 195.

Figures

FIGURE 19. Lithosoma pentaphylla brevipes USNM E51276. R=3.3, r=1.3 cm. A. Abactinal surface. Scale bar=1.0 cm. B. Closeup of arm and superomarginal plates. Scale bar=0.5 cm. C. Actinal surface. Scale bar=1.0 cm. D. Closeup of oral region. Scale bar=0.3 cm. E. Furrow spines and adjacent adambulacral spination. Scale bar=0.3 cm.