Parasalenia gratiosa A. Agassiz 1863

Yiu, Sam King Fung & Mah, Christopher L., 2024, New Ecological Observations and Occurrence for Asteroidea and Echinoidea in Hong Kong, Zootaxa 5526 (1), pp. 1-69 : 19-20

Parasalenia gratiosa A. Agassiz 1863

FIGURE 10A–B

Comments

This species was identified based on its uniformly black to green-olive colored spines ( Fig. 10A ) with banding present or absent, especially in smaller individuals. The milled ring around the base of the primary spines is prominent and conspicuously white ( Schultz 2015). Little to no data was available about feeding and ecology of this species. Figure 10B shows an individual with numerous ophiuroids, Ophiactis savignyi wrapped around its spines.

Occurrence/Distribution

Hong Kong, 0–10 m.

Outside Hong Kong, throughout the Indo-Pacific , southernmost China, Southern Japan, the Philippines, East Africa, Aldabara, Maldives. 0–70 m.

STOMOPNEUSTIDAE Mortensen 1903

Figures

FIGURE 10. Paraselenia gratiosa A. In situ under normal conditions. B. Individual with spines covered by Ophiactis brittle stars. Photographer: Sam King Fung Yiu.