Aquilonastra yairi, O, 2006

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 : 284

Aquilonastra yairi sp. nov.

Figures 1, 4f, 10f

Asterina wega .— Achituv, 1973a: 333–336 (part, Acre and Akhziz pool populations).

Asterina burtonii .— Smith, 1927a: 641–645 (part).— Tortonese, 1960: 20–21 (probably part).

Asterina burtoni .— Price, 1983: 47–48, fig. 14 (part).— Achituv and Sher, 1991: 670 (part).— Mladenov and Achituv, 1999: 152 (part).— Karako et al., 2002: 139–144 (part, Akhziv, Shikmona, and Mikhmoret Mediterranean populations).— Waters et al., 2004: 874, 876–877, figs 1, 2, tbl. 1 (non Asterina burtonii Gray, 1840 ; see above).

Asterina burtoni burtoni .—A.M. Clark and Rowe, 1971: 68, fig. 17c (Acre), tbl. 1 (part).—A.M. Clark, 1993: 207–208 (part; non Asterina burtonii Gray, 1840 ).

Aquilonastra burtoni .— OʼLoughlin and Waters, 2004: 11, 13 (part), 14, fig. 1.— Byrne, 2006: 245, tbls 1, 2, fig. 1 (non Asterina burtonii Gray, 1840 ).

Material examined. Holotype. Mediterranean Sea, Israel, Michmoret, Y. Achituv, 11 Jun 2005, NMV F112174 (alcohol) . Paratypes. Type locality and date, F107434 (18, alcohol).

Other material. Israel, Akhziv , 25 Oct 1966, MNHN EcAs 11042 (67, dry); Gulf of Suez, A.P. Dollfus, 25 Dec 1928, EcAs11840 (1, dry); AM J17892 (2, dry); Red Sea, NHM [18]40.3.23.55 (1, dry); don. J. Waters, F104975 (22, alcohol); F104974 (2, alcohol) .

Diagnosis. Fissiparous Aquilonastra species; rays up to 8, predominantly 6, form frequently asymmetrical post-fissiparity; form of larger specimens sometimes symmetrical with 5 equal rays, most interradii with inconspicuous madreporite; rays narrow basally, tapering, narrow rounded distally, digitiform; up to R = 7 mm, r = 4 mm; gonopores not seen.

At R = 7 mm, lacking carinal plates; lacking large irregular proximal abactinal plates; 2 irregular longitudinal series of papulae on each side of rays; spinelets subgranuliform, short thick conical to columnar, splay-pointed, cover plates closely, frequently clustered in groups of up to 8 per group, up to about 16 spinelets on proximal plates, up to about 14 on mid-interradial plates; superomarginal plates each with up to about 7 spinelets, inferomarginal plates each with up to about 14 taller spinelets.

Spines per actinal plate up to: oral 5, suboral 4 (frequently 3), furrow 4, subambulacral 4, actinal interradial 4 (predominantly 3); interradial spines conical, thin, pointed.

Colour (live). Specimens from Shikmona were all “mottled brown and orange” (pers. comm. Y. Achituv).

Distribution. Eastern Mediterranean, Acre, Akhziz pool populations, Michmoret, Shikmona; Red Sea, Gulf of Suez.

Etymology. Named for Yair Achituv (Bar-Ilan University, Israel), with appreciation of his contribution of material for this study and his research on the asterinids of the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea.

Remarks. At R = 7 mm, A. yairi is distinguished from A. burtonii by: having more actinal spines per plate (up to four not two suboral; up to four not two interradial); close cover of spinelets on abactinal plates, frequently clustered into groups (not covering plates sparsely); smaller and more regular abactinal plates; more numerous papulae.

Achituv (1969) studied “pentaradiate and pluriradiate” forms of an asterinid from Elat in the Gulf of Aqaba, and referred the pentaradiate form to Asterina burtoni and the pluriradiate form to Asterina wega . We support his conclusion that there are two discrete species. But we refer the nonfissiparous pentaradiate form to Aquilonastra marshae sp. nov. (above). The fissiparous pluriradiate form had R up to 12 mm, and is judged here to be Aquilonastra burtonii ( Gray, 1840) and not conspecific with the smaller fissiparous species A. yairi . We have seen no evidence that A. yairi occurs in the Gulf of Aqaba. The use of “pentaradiate” to determine nonfissiparous specimens can be misleading as the larger fissiparous specimens frequently have five equal rays but continue to have more than one inconspicuous interradial madreporite.

For evidence from Achituv (1973) that both A. burtonii and A. yairi occur in the eastern Mediterranean, see Remarks under A. burtonii above.

Specimens ( NMV F104974, F104975) were assumed to be A. burtoni and reported in the molecular phylogenetic work of Waters et al. (2004), and represented in the phylogenetic tree of OʼLoughlin and Waters (2004). Both lots are redetermined in this work as A. yairi . In OʼLoughlin and Waters (2004), the material AM J17892 (2) was assigned to A. burtoni . It is redetermined here as A. yairi .

The discovery of two type specimens of Asterina burtonii by Smith (1927a) is discussed above under A. burtonii . The smaller of these two types is assigned here to A. yairi .