Oligometra serripinna ( Carpenter, 1881 )

Es, Mekhova & Ta, Britayev, 2015, Soft substratecrinoids (Crinoidea: Comatulida) andtheir macrosymbionts in Halong Bay (North Vietnam), Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 63, pp. 438-445 : 443

Oligometra serripinna ( Carpenter, 1881)

( Fig. 3c, d )

Antedon serripinna Carpenter, 1881: 175 , 182.

Oligometra serripinna: Clark AH, 1918: 130–131 ; Clark AH, 1921: 37–38, pl. 33, figs. 58, 59; Clark HL, 1946: 49–50; Clark AM, 1975: 403–404; Clark & Rowe, 1971: 10, 19; Messing, 2015.

Material. South China Sea, Halong Bay , Katba Is., St. 2, 10–15 m depth, 30 April 2012 – 3 specimens ; St. 6, 1– 6 m depth, 3 May 2012 – 1 specimen; St. 8, 1–10 m depth, 6 May 2012 – 5 specimens.

Coloration. Dark brown body mottled with white and yellow stripes and spots, becoming pinkish-brown when fixed in alcohol.

Measurements. Ten arms 44–77 mm in length: 11–16 cirri 7–12 mm in length.

Taxonomic remarks. Morphology of our specimens is in accordance with the diagnoses provided by Messing (2015).

Ecological notes. Common, found both solitarily and in groups of three to five individuals, depth range 2–7 m, on unidentified gorgonians. One individual was found on a large specimen of Amphimetra tessellata attached to the arm. Diurnal, during the day arms are arranged in the radial filtration fan. Previously found on gorgonian corals ( Meyer & Macurda, 1980; Marsh & Morrison, 2004)

Symbionts. Polychaete Myzostoma cf. fissum.

Distribution. Madagascar, Red Sea, Japan, Philippines, Maldives, India ( Clark & Rowe, 1971), Palau ( Meyer & Macurda, 1980), Thailand ( Putchakarn & Sonchaeng, 2004) and Australia ( Clark AM, 1975).

Figures

Fig. 3. Proximal ray articulations, branching patterns and arrangement of cirri. Scale bar = 1 cm. a, b, Oligometra serripinna; c, d, Zygometra cf. comata.