Oneirophanta mutabilis mutabilis Théel, 1879

Madeira, Patrícia, Kroh, Andreas, Cordeiro, Ricardo, De, António M., Martins, Frias & Ávila, Sérgio P., 2019, The Echinoderm Fauna of the Azores (NE Atlantic Ocean), Zootaxa 4639 (1), pp. 1-231 : 158

Oneirophanta mutabilis mutabilis Théel, 1879

Reports for the Azores:

Oneirophanta mutabilis Théel, 1879 — $ Gebruk 2008: 50, 51.

Type locality: Between Marion and Crozet Islands ( 46°46’S, 45°31’E) .

See: Théel (1879: 6–7, pl. 1, figs. 4–6); Hansen (1975: 24–32, figs. 2–5).

Occurrence: cosmopolitan, in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans; from the Rockall Trough ( Gage et al. 1985) south to the waters between the Azores and the Iberian Peninsula ( Hérouard 1923, Gebruk 2008); reported elsewhere off Uruguay, South Atlantic ( 36°44’S, 46°16’W; Théel 1882); O. mutabilis affinis Ludwig, 1893 is restricted to the East Pacific ( Hansen 1975).

Depth: 1,804 –6,000 m ( Hérouard 1923, Tyler et al. 1985a), mostly deeper than 3,200 ( Gage et al. 1985); AZO: 2,954 –3,050 m ( Gebruk 2008).

Habitat: epibenthic on soft sediments, from sandy clay to ooze ( Hansen 1975).

Larval stage: possibly direct or lecithotrophic ( Tyler et al. 1985a).

Remarks: historically, the cosmopolitan Oneirophanta mutabilis mutabilis was recorded in the waters near the Azores, between the archipelago and the European continental shores ( e.g., Perrier 1902, as Oneirophanta mutabilis ). Recently, Gebruk (2008) reported this species within the archipelago waters ( G.O. Sars, MAR–ECO cruise, sta 40/367: 42°55’N, 30°20’W, 2,954 –2,968 m; sta 46/372: 42°46’N, 29°16’W, 3,005 –3,050 m). The somehow discontinuous distribution of this cosmopolitan species in the Atlantic may reflect an artefact produced by insufficient sampling as a consequence of the great depths in which the species is usually found.