A new species of ophidiasterid sea star, Copidaster japonicus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea), from Japan
Kogure, Y.; Kohtsuka, H. (2014). A new species of ophidiasterid sea star, Copidaster japonicus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea), from Japan. Biogeography 16: 41-46
In: Biogeography. Biogeographical Society of Japan: Tokyo. ISSN 1345-0662, more
|
Keywords |
Asteroidea [WoRMS]; Copidaster A.H. Clark, 1948 [WoRMS]; Copidaster japonicus Kogure & Kohtsuka, 2014 [WoRMS]; Ophidiasteridae Verrill, 1870 [WoRMS] Marine/Coastal |
Author keywords |
starfish, Ophidiasteridae, Copidaster, new species, Noto Peninsula, Sea of Japan |
Abstract |
In this study, we describe a large, new species of Copidaster from the continental shelf of 80m depth off the Noto Peninsula in the southeastern part of the Sea of Japan. Copidaster japonicus sp. nov. is distinguished by adjacent adambulacral plates of similar sizes, and almost every adambulacral plate bearing a single subambulacral spine that is deeply embedded in integument, with only the round tip protruding from the body wall. All of the congeneric species are limited to the tropical Atlantic Ocean; therefore, this finding is significant not only with respect to the description of a new Copidaster species but also because this is the first record of this genus in the Indo-Pacific waters. |
|