Choriaster granulatus Lütken, 1869

Sastry, D. R. K., Marimuthu, N. & Rajan, Rajkumar, 2019, Echinodermata of Lakshadweep, Arabian Sea with the description of a new genus and a species, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 119 (4) : -

Choriaster granulatus Lütken

(Pl. IV. Fig. f)

1869. Choriaster granulatus : Lütken, C. Catalog Godeffroy Museum. 4: 35.

1971. Choriaster granulatus : Clark, A.M. and Rowe, F.W.E. Monograph of shallow-water Indo-West Pacific Echinoderms, p. 53 (key), p. 34-35 (distribution).

1993. Choriaster granulatus : Clark, A.M. Echinoderm studies. 4: 298.

2007. Choriaster granulatus : Sastry, D.R.K. Rec. zool. Surv. India Occ. Paper No. 271: 59.

Material: AG. Dt. 03.02.2018. One spec.

Description: R/r = 90/ 50mm. Oral and aboral surfaces covered with smoth skin, abactinal plates and marginal plates not distinguishable;arms blunt, form almost stellate, broadly rounded at tips. Interradial areas extensive. Abactinal as well as actinal sides flat in preserved specimen, abactinal side convex in live condition. Granule covering fine, tightly packed, appearing as smooth thick skin to the naked eye in the preserved specimen, distinguishable only under high magnification,. Madreporite single. Furrow spines 7, middle longest gradually becoming shorter on either side.

Remark: In addition, another specimen was noticed at Kavaratti on Dec 5, 2018 and photographed. The abactinal side appears as though covered by thick skin in live condition and under low magnification in the preserved condition. But when the dried specimen is observed under high magnification very fine granulation could be seen.

Distribution: Lakshadweep and Andamans. Elsewhere: Red sea, East Indies, The Philippines, South China sea, South Pacific Islands (Clarck and Rowe, 1971), Red Sea and East Africa, South China Sea, N. Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, (Clarck, 1993). The species is newly recorded from Lakshadweep.