Ophiothela, Verrill, 1867

Fatemi, Yaser & Stöhr, Sabine, 2019, Annotated species list of Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, with new records, Zootaxa 4711 (1), pp. 77-106 : 91-92

Ophiothela sp.

Fig. 8 A–E

Material examined: Persian Gulf, Iran, Bustaneh, intertidal, hand collected, May 2018, collector Yaser Fatemi, 12 spms, 3.1 mm to 3.3 mm dd [SMNH-178936].

Habitat: Rocky, sandy, cobble, intertidal (present study).

Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman: Bustaneh (34) (ibid.) ( Fig. 2B ).

Indian Ocean: n/a.

Remarks: The hexamerous fissiparous specimens found by this study are very similar to O. venusta in coloration and granulation but may be assigned to O. danae on account of their body symmetry and signs of fissiparity.

They do not show the typical color pattern of O. danae ( Fig. 8L ) with transverse bands on the arms (except distally in some spms), their radial shields appear to be shorter and the disc swollen in that area, the disc granules are denser, completely obscuring the radial shields, interradially and in the disc center there are clusters of much higher granules as in O. venusta . It is therefore unclear if these specimens fall within the variability of O. danae or if perhaps O. venusta is capable of switching to fissiparity under certain conditions. It is also possible that these are an undescribed species. The taxonomic status of several species of Ophiothela is at present unclear and needs to be analyzed with molecular methods, because their variable morphology obscures species boundaries ( Hendler et al. 2012).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Habitats at the sites where brittle stars were collected by the present study (see Table 1). A, Bandar Lengeh, B, Bustaneh, C, Chabahar Bay (Hotel Lipar), D, Chabahar Bay (University coast), E, Chabahar Bay (Tis), F, Qeshm Island.

FIGURE 8. Live photos of hexamerous fissiparous Ophiothela sp. [SMNH-178936] (A–E), Persian Gulf, Iran, Bustaneh, A, specimen with half disc and three small regenerating arms, three larger arms of different sizes may indicate several previous splits, dorsal view, B, another recently split individual with three new arms, and three older ones, dorsal view, C, same as B, ventral view, D, hexamerous individual with three smaller and three larger arms, disc almost fully regenerated, dorsal view, E, same as E, ventral view, Ophiothela venusta, same locality, with regenerating arms (F–K), F, individual with arms of different sizes, dorsal view, G, specimen with two narrower and three wider arms, separated by one and two wider arms, dorsal view, H, same as G, ventral view, I, individual with two regenerating arms adjacent to each other, dorsal view, J, same as I, ventral view, K, individual with one large arm, one intermediate and three small arms, dorsal view, Ophiothela danae, New Caledonia, Lifou Island, dorsal view.