Marthasterias africana ( Müller & Troschel, 1842 )

Jangoux, Michel, 2021, The asteroid species of Lamarck (Echinodermata: Asteroidea), Zoosystema 43 (13), pp. 213-252 : 215

africanus Müller & Troschel, 1842 , Asteracanthion

( Fig. 1 )

Asteracanthion africanus Müller & Troschel, 1842: 15 .

Marthasterias africana – Wright et al. 2016: 446.

CURRENT STATUS. — Marthasterias africana ( Müller & Troschel, 1842) .

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — MHNH; Lesueur drawings collection; ref. 74026; Baudin expedition; Péron and Lesueur leg.

DISTRIBUTION. — Southernmost part of Africa.

REMARK

Now recognised as a valid species, M. africana , since its description in 1842, was considered a variety or form of the common European asteroid Marthasterias glacialis (Linnaeus, 1758) (e.g. Mortensen 1933; Clark & Courtman-Stock 1976). Péron and Lesueur collected individuals of this common species when staying in the Cape of Good Hope area on their way back to France. Péron and Lesueur’s material of A. africanus could not be found in the MNHN.

Figures

FIG. 1. — Asteracanthion africanus Müller & Troschel, 1842: A, B, abactinal (A) and actinal (B) surfaces; C, D, arm cross sections with gonad structure (D); E, arm actinal surface showing adambulacral spines;F, abactinal spines surrounded by rings of crossed pedicellariae (Lesueur collection 74026,details,courtesy of MHNH).