Ophiothrix galapagensis Lütken & Mortensen, 1899

Granja-Fernández, Rebeca, Hendrickx, Michel E., Rangel-Solís, Pedro Diego & López-Pérez, Andrés, 2023, Deep-sea Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) collected during the TALUD cruises in western Mexico, Zootaxa 5259 (1), pp. 1-71 : 62

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5259.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4306F52E-FD24-45B0-B307-66B71173D805

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7795147

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03AB87FA-FF9C-FFE8-FF7B-FEE4FBD2FAED

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Ophiothrix galapagensis Lütken & Mortensen, 1899
status

 

Ophiothrix galapagensis Lütken & Mortensen, 1899 View in CoL

Fig. 19G‒L View FIGURE 19

Ophiothrix galapagensis Lütken & Mortensen, 1899: 181‒183 View in CoL , pl. 20, figs.1‒4.— H.L. Clark 1917: 439; A.H. Clark 1939: 3‒4.— Ziesenhenne 1937: 224‒225.

Material examined. Three individuals at one station. TALUD XIV, Sta. 32, 1 ind. (ICML-EMU-11179) and 2 ind. (ICML-EMU-11691).

Comparative material. Syntypes, 2 ind.: MCZ OPH-2340 , USNM 19588 About USNM . Non-type, 12 ind.: ICML-UNAM 3.108 .3, MCZ OPH-5434 (Supplementary file 2) .

Description (ICML-EMU-11691). DD = 7 mm. Disc round. Dorsal disc covered by scales, few scattered elongated spines, and short multifid spines, spines at the margin larger than the others. Primary plates not evident. RS scalene triangular, without spines, almost as long as disc radius, separated by elongated scales except distally ( Fig. 19G View FIGURE 19 ). Ventral interradii covered by integument proximally and few scales with multifid spines distally ( Fig. 19H View FIGURE 19 ). OSh broader than long, pentagonal with rounded edges. Madreporite larger than OSh. AdSh trapezoidal with rounded edges, meeting in front of OSh. Jaws bear 24‒27 TPas, clustering, short ( Fig. 19I View FIGURE 19 ). Arms slender. DAP longer than broad, diamond-shaped, contiguous ( Fig. 19J View FIGURE 19 ). VAP broader than long, pentagonal, distal edge concave, slightly separated. LAP with up to 5‒6 ArSp, serrated, hyaline, elongated (approximately 2.5 arm segments in length), dorsalmost the longest, ventralmost the shortest, ventral and distalmost hook-shaped. Tentacle pores with one oval TSc ( Fig. 19K View FIGURE 19 ). Color pattern dorsally and ventrally pink-whitish (ethanol preservation) ( Fig. 19G‒L View FIGURE 19 ).

Habitat and distribution. Mexico and Galapagos Islands, Ecuador; 64‒549 m depth, sponges, rocky, muddy, and sandy substrates (Lütken & Mortensen 1899; Ziesenhenne 1937; Granja-Fernández et al. 2015). The material examined was collected in the Gulf of California; 123 m depth.

Remarks. The specimens of Ophiothrix galapagensis examined herein concurs morphologically with the type material. However, additional material in the holdings of other scientific collections (i.e., MCZ OPH-5434, ICMLUNAM 3.108.3) and examined during this study differs in having a dense number of spines on the dorsal disc and much larger radial shields. Based on these differences and considering the long distance between western Mexico, where our material was collected, and the Galapagos Islands, the species’ type locality, the specimens from Mexico might represent a geographical or size-related variation or even a different species. Molecular analysis of specimens collected along the geographical range of O. galapagensis is needed to solve this issue.

MCZ

Museum of Comparative Zoology

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Echinodermata

Class

Ophiuroidea

Order

Amphilepidida

Family

Ophiotrichidae

Genus

Ophiothrix

Loc

Ophiothrix galapagensis Lütken & Mortensen, 1899

Granja-Fernández, Rebeca, Hendrickx, Michel E., Rangel-Solís, Pedro Diego & López-Pérez, Andrés 2023
2023
Loc

Ophiothrix galapagensis Lütken & Mortensen, 1899: 181‒183

Ziesenhenne, F. C. 1937: 224
Clark, H. L. 1917: 439
Mortensen, T. 1899: 183
1899
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