Aquilonastra batheri ( Goto, 1914 )

O, P. Mark, 2006, A systematic revision of the asterinid genus Aquilonastra O Loughlin, 2004 (Echinodermata: Asteroidea), Memoirs of Museum Victoria 63 (2), pp. 257-287 : 261-268

Aquilonastra batheri ( Goto, 1914)

Figures 1, 2b, 7b

Asterina penicillaris (part).— Sladen, 1889: 393 (two Challenger specimens from Kobé, Japan, non Asterina penicillaris ( Lamarck, 1816) , according to Goto (1914); Asterina penicillaris of uncertain identity and validity, according to A.M. Clark (1993)).

Asterina batheri Goto, 1914: 651–656 , pl. 19 figs 275–278.— Hayashi, 1940: 119, pl. 13 figs 5, 6. — Hayashi, 1973: 71, pl. 12 fig. 2.—A.M. Clark, 1993: 207.— Fujita and Saba, 2000: 169, pl. 1C, pl. 3D, F.— Waters et al., 2004: 874, 876, 877, tbl. 1, figs 1, 2.

Aquilonastra batheri .— OʼLoughlin and Waters, 2004: 11, 13–15, figs 1, 9e.— Saba and Fujita, 2006: 286.— Byrne, 2006: 245, tbl. 2.

Material examined. Japan,ToyamaBay,NMVF97441 (1); AMJ11564 (2).

Diagnosis. Non-fissiparous Aquilonastra species; rays 5, broad basally, narrowly rounded distally; up to R = 34 mm, r = 14 mm ( Goto, 1914); abactinal proximal interradial pedicellariae, pairs of tooth-like differentiated valves; gonopores abactinal; direct development into brachiolaria stage ( Hayashi, 1973).

At R = 19 mm, r = 10 mm, up to 4 proximal doubly-papulate carinal plates, each with up to 4 tufts each with 6–12 splayed spinelets, up to about 40 spinelets on proximal abactinal plates; plates with low domes for spinelets; few secondary plates; spinelets conical to digitiform, thick, subsacciform, splay-pointed; superomarginal plates smaller than inferomarginals, each series with up to about 20 spinelets per plate, slightly more stout on inferomarginals.

Spines per actinal plate up to: oral 7, suboral 5, furrow 7, subambulacral 9, actinal interradial 12 proximally 6 distally; interradial spines thin conical, to digitiform to subsacciform.

Colour (live). Disc and proximal apical area reddish-orange, madreporite white, proximal rays and interradii mottled with dark and light reddish-orange and white, distally pale reddish-orange (photo from M. Komatsu); disc and upper rays red, with sides of rays mottled mauve and brown, madreporite off-white (photo from T. Fujita).

Distribution. “Common in the middle and southern regions of Japan ” ( Hayashi, 1973); sublittoral ( Hayashi, 1940) to 92 m ( Sladen, 1889).

Remarks. OʼLoughlin and Waters (2004) determined material from Oman ( UF 70) as A. batheri . This material is redetermined in this work as A. watersi sp. nov. (below). The potentially large size, presence of numerous interradial pedicellariae with differentiated valves, and grouping of spinelets into tufts on proximal abactinal plates are distinguishing characters. Red is commonly present in the mottled live colours.