Pteraster militaris (O.F. Müller, 1776 )

Shin, Sook & Kim, Donghwan, 2016, A new record of sea star genus Pteraster (Asteroidea: Velatida: Pterasteridae) from the East Sea, Korea, Journal of Species Research 5 (3), pp. 348-350 : 3-5

Pteraster militaris (O.F. Müller, 1776)

Ťō입ǧäṻṵq (신AE) ( Fig. 1 A­F)

Asterias militaris O.F. Müller, 1776: 234 .

Asteriscus militaris Müller and Troschel, 1842: 44 . Pteraster aporus Ludwig, 1886: 293 .

Pteraster militaris Müller and Troschel, 1842: 128 , pI. 6, figs la-b; Ludwig, 1900: 469; Clark, 1905: 2; 1908: 286; Fisher, 1911: 346, pI. 98, figs. 1, 2; Verrill, 1914: 272; Mortensen, 1927: 104, figs. 58, 60; D’yakonov, 1950: 68; Cherbonnier, 1969: 348; Clark and Downey,

1992: 331; Pawson et al., 2009: 1190; Mah and Hansson, 2015: 124147.

Material examined. One specimen, Jumunjin, 26 May 2013, at 50 m depth by fishing net, Lee, T. and D. Kim .

Description. Body stellate form, fleshy, smooth, soft and thick. Arms broad and tapered to tip. Supradorsal membrane thick, wrinkled, with calcareous deposits. Spiracles large, few. Paxillae short, low, thick, with three to five slender spines. Osculum small, surrounded by rel­ atively few short blunt spines. Ambulacral groove fairly narrow. Adambulacral plates with five to nine spines, in­ ner two spines short, others long, slender, blunt, regularly webbed. Web slightly thickened, undulating and continued outward as ridge on ventrolateral membrane. Oral plates moderate size, bearing five webbed oral spines, not webbed across interradius, sheathed in membrane, outermost spine small, others long, blunt, subequal, stout. Tube feet moderately robust, arranged in two rows.

Size. R = 14.5 cm, r = 6.1 cm, R/r = 2.4

Habitat. Rocky substrates.

Color. Color in life is light pink.

Distribution. Korea (East Sea), Japan, Russia, North Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Greenland, United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Barents Sea, White Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico.

Remarks. This species occurred in circumpolar region as an arctic-boreal species in North Pacific and North Atlantic (D’yakonov, 1950; Mah and Hansson, 2015). Pteraster militaris (O.F. Müller, 1776) is distinctly distinguished from P. tesselatus which was reported in Korean fauna: body form, length ratio of arm to disc and surface of dorsal membrane. This species was characterized by stellate body form. Supradorsal membrane is thick, but contains thorny perforated rods. Peculiar adambulacral armature forming transverse comb bears five to nine webbed spines.

Figures

Fig. 1. Pteraster militaris. A, dorsal view; B, ventral view; C, ventral side of arm; D, webbed adambulacral spines (AS) and tube feet (TF); E, oral part; F, oral spines (arrows) and oral part. Scale bars:A, B =5 cm; C, E, F=3 cm; D =1 cm.