Aquilonastra rosea (H.L. Clark, 1938 )

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 : 281

Aquilonastra rosea (H.L. Clark, 1938)

Figures 1, 3f, 6h

Paranepanthia rosea H.L. Clark, 1938: 161–162 , pl. 22 fig. 8.— H.L. Clark, 1946: 137.—A.M. Clark, 1993: 223.— Marsh and Pawson, 1993: 285.— Rowe and Gates, 1995: 39.

Asterinopsis rosea .— Cotton and Godfrey, 1942: 203.

Aquilonastra rosea .—OʼLoughlin and Waters, 2004: 11, 13–15.

Material examined. Paratypes. SW Western Australia, Rottnest I., AM J6171 (3).

Other material. Rottnest I., 18 Aug 2004, WAM Z31171 (1); Perth, 4 Aug 2004, Z31174 (1); Jurien Bay, J7437 (4); 13 m, 27 Apr 2005, Z31162 (1); Abrolhos Is., 110 m, 6 Dec 1970, Z21265 (1).

Diagnosis. Non-fissiparous Aquilonastra species; rays 5, long (at R = 17 mm), wide basally, tapering to narrowly rounded distally, up to R = 17 mm, r = 9 mm.

At R = 17 mm, regular doubly papulate carinal plates proximally; abactinal plates not in 2 “fields”; abactinal plates with high raised rounded column or ridge, concave papular notch; longitudinal series of plates and papulae along sides of rays; predominantly single large papula per space; very few secondary plates; disc delineated by 5 wide radial plates, 5 short interradial plates; spinelets sacciform, long, splay-pointed; spinelets in paxilliform dense splayed round tufts of more than 30 per plate; superomarginal and inferomarginal plates with subequal tufts of spinelets.

Spines per actinal plate up to: oral 9; suboral 12; furrow 7; subambulacral 12; actinal interradial 20; spines on subambulacral and actinal plates in tufts; interradial spines sacciform, splay-pointed.

Colour (live). “Rose-red, more or less variegated with creamcolour” (H.L. Clark, 1938).

Distribution. SW Australia, Abrolhos I. to Rottnest I.; 0– 110 m.

Remarks. OʼLoughlin and Waters (2004) reassigned Paranepanthia rosea to Aquilonastra . This reassignment is upheld here provisionally on the basis of the arrangement of abactinal plates and papulae, the presence of internal superambulacral plates, and the arrangement of actinal plates. However, the paxilliform tufts of long thin abactinal spinelets and actinal spines, and high numbers of spinelets and spines per plate, are atypical of Aquilonastra . A. scobinata (below) is morphologically similar to P. rosea in having paxilliform tufts of numerous long thin abactinal spinelets, superambulacral plates, and actinal plates in series parallel to the furrow. The paxilliform tufts of spinelets in A. rosea are round, those in A. scobinata are frequently crescentiform.