Circeaster americanus (A.H. Clark, 1916 )

García-Guillén, Laura M., Macías-Ramírez, Aurora, Ríos, Pilar & Manjón-Cabeza, M. Eugenia, 2023, Deep-Sea asteroids (Echinodermata; Asteroidea) from the Galician Bank (North Atlantic Ocean), Zootaxa 5297 (2), pp. 228-238 : 231

Circeaster americanus (A.H. Clark, 1916) . AphialD: 178094. New record. ( Fig. 2 a-d).

Material examined. 1 preserved specimen with register number (included station): 178094 -B35 (B10DR15)

Diagnostic characters. Five long arms ( Fig. 2a ). Abactinal plates: surrounded by granules and the centre of plates usually naked or sometimes with some scattered granules ( Fig. 2a, b ). Size of abactinal plates on arms larger than those on disk ( Fig. 2a ). Papulae single ( Fig. 2b ). Inferomarginal plates with 40–50 granules ( Fig. 2c ). Granules on actinal plates and bivalve or spatulate pedicellariae ( Fig. 2d ). Adambulacral plates: 4–7 furrow spines, 3–4 subambulacral spines and 6 oral spines ( Fig. 2d ).

Distribution. Atlantic Ocean, south of Azores, North Carolina, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Guyana (A.H. Clark, 1916; Clark & Downey 1992; Mah 2022; Obis 2022).

Bathymetric range. 500 m ( Clark & Downey, 1992)– 2040 m (OBIS 14055 identified by Dilman). Present study: 1400 m.

Remarks. There are no other similar species in GB that could be confused with C. americanus .

Figures

FIG.2. Circeaster americanus (178094-B35): a. Abactinal general view. Scale bar: 20 mm. b. Abactinal plates detail. Scale bar: 2.5 mm. c. Marginal fringe.Arrow: Inferomarginal plates. Scale bar: 10 mm. d. Actinal view (plates arrangement). Pedicellariae detail. Oral plates.Adambulacral plates and furrow spines. Scale bar: 10 mm. Map.World distribution area of species: Circeaster americanus (see legend).