Astropecten marginatus Gray 1840

Astropecten marginatus Gray, 1840 Figures 6–7 Astropecten marginatus Gray, 1840: 181. Astropecten marginatus — Brito 1962: 3; 1968: 7, pl. 4, fig. 1; Nomura & Fausto Filho 1966: 19; Lima-Verde 1969: 11; Carrera- Rodriguez & Tommasi 1977: 88–89; Tommasi et al. 1988: 5; Clark & Downey 1992: 41–42, fig. 10e, pl. 11A–B; Gondim et al. 2008: 155; Ventura et al. 2008: 177–178; Lima & Fernandes 2009: 58; Magris & Deìstro 2010: 59; Xavier 2010: 75; Gondim et al. 2014: 22–24, figs. 6a–e, 12b; Guilherme & Rosa 2014; Fernandez et al. 2017; Bueno et al. 2018: 177, fig. 6; Gurjão & Lotufo 2018: 10; Miranda 2018: 14; Patrizzi & Dobrovolski 2018: 182; Torres & Torres 2019: 412; Turra et al. 2019. Astropecten richardi — Perrier 1875: 372. Material examined (21 specs, 10–50 mm R). BRAZIL. Bahia, Santa Cruz de Cabrália (16°14’– 16°15’S; 38°00’– 38°58’W)— 7 m, 16.xi.2010, 5 specs, R 11–25 mm (MZUSP 2100); 6 m, 16.xi.2010, 6 specs, R 10–28 mm (MZUSP 2101); 7 m, 16.xi.2010, 5 specs, R 30–50 mm (MZUSP 2100); 6 m, 16.xi.2010, 5 specs, R 30–40 mm (MZUSP 2101). Description (R 30–50 mm). Disc broad and flattened, arms short and flattened (Fig. 6A–C); R/r 3.3; 39 SM plates (R 50 mm); R/SM# 1.3. Abactinal region covered by paxillae as follows: proximal region of arms and disc with 10–12 central and 15 peripheral spinelets (Fig. 6D), midline region of arms with 5–8 central and nine peripheral spinelets, and distal region of arms with 1–3 central and seven peripheral spinelets. Madreporite large, not hidden by paxillae (Fig. 6E). Marginal plates horizontal and elongated. Superomarginal plates without spines and covered by granules: central granules robust, peripheral granules elongated, hyaline and thin. Inferomarginal plates projected beyond superomarginal plates. Fringe with two layers of spines, parallel, top layer with two spines of equal size, and a third proximal 3x smaller and thinner (Fig. 6G); bottom layer with 4–5 small spines, proximal spine smaller and thinner (Fig. 6I). Actinal region of inferomarginal plates lacking squamules; central region naked, sometimes with long spines similar to lateral fringe spines (Fig. 6J). Three adambulacral spines forming single line, central spine longer than adjacent ones (Fig. 6K). One large subambulacral spine in center of plate, largest spine in adambulacral plate, surrounded by acicular spinelets; spinelets between large spine and furrow spines. Oral spines flattened with blunt tip (Fig. 6F). Pedicellariae absent. Ontogenetic variation (R 10–28 mm). Average R/r 3.0; 22 SM plates (R 20 mm); R/SM# 1.1. Proximal paxillae with 3–5 central and 8–10 peripheral spinelets (Fig. 7C), distal paxillae with 0–1 central and 4–5 peripheral spinelets. Inferomarginal fringe with two layers as in larger specimen, but proximal spine in top layer 5x smaller than adjacent spines, and bottom layer with 3–4 small spines, proximal spine smallest (Fig. 7F). Three adambulacral spines forming single line, central spine largest in adambulacral plate (Fig. 7E). Second subambulacral row as in larger specimen, with central spine largest than adjacent spines, but not largest in adambulacral plate; third row with 2–4 sub-equal spines. Coloration. Abactinal surface greyish in center of disc and arms, margins orangish to creamy; inferomarginal spines fade from a bluish-grey base to creamy tips. Specimens in ethanol are pale brown. Distribution. Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana (Walenkamp 1976; Clark & Downey 1992; Alvarado et al. 2008; Benavides- Serrato et al. 2005, 2011; Pawson et al. 2009, Alvarado & Solís-Marín 2013). BRAZIL: Amapá, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul (Bernasconi 1955; Tommasi 1958; Brito 1962; Lima-Verde 1969; Netto 2006; Gondim et al. 2008; Pelaes 2008; Lima & Fernandes 2009; Xavier 2010; Gondim et al. 2014; Bueno et al. 2018; Miranda 2018; Torres & Torres 2019; Turra et al. 2019). Depth. 1–130 m (Clark & Downey 1992). Biological notes. This species lives in muddy, sandy and rubble bottoms (Alvarado & Solís-Marín 2013) and most likely feeds during the day, preferably on gastropods, bivalves and crustaceans (Bitter 1984; Zoldan 2005; Guilherme & Rosa 2014; Fernandez et al. 2017). In Caraguatatuba Bay, São Paulo, A. marginatus lives in sympatry with L. senegalensis, where they partition food resources (Fernandez et al. 2017). The reproductive cycle of A. marginatus in this region is annual and spawning happens mainly during the rainy season (Turra et al. 2019). Netto (2006) found many specimens gathered in shallow pools at night with 2–5 arms facing upwards, possibly engaged in gas exchange as the exposure of the tube feet into the water column should increase its breathing surface (Farmanfarmaian 1966). Astropecten marginatus is classified as “Vulnerable” (baseline data indicate a reduction in population by at least 30% over the next 100 years) by the Ministry of the Environment (MMA 2018). According to Gurjão & Lotufo (2018), its harvesting in Brazil is currently prohibited. Holotype. Gray (1840, p. 178) mentioned that the specimens he described were deposited in the collections of the Zoological Society of London (especially South American specimens collected by Mr. Hugh Cuming) and of the British Museum, where he worked. However, Andrew Cabrinovic told us that the type has not been found at the NHM-UK (pers. comm. on 20 Feb 20). Type locality. Not reported by Gray (1840). Taxonomic remarks of the genus Astropecten As noted by Cobb et al. (2019), telling some of the Astropecten species apart is not trivial. We found several instances of misidentification in prior work from Northeastern Brazil and we hope that the present work will reduce errors in future studies. Phylogenetic relationships between some species of Brazilian Astropecten were addressed by Zulliger & Lessios (2010) and Cobb et al. (2019). Their molecular cladograms indicate that A. antillensis is more closely related to A. articulatus than to A. cingulatus. The relationship between these species and A. marginatus is uncertain as this species could be equally related to A. antillensis, A. articulatus and A. cingulatus or most closely related to A. cingulatus (Zulliger & Lessios, 2010). Astropencten brasiliensis was not included in these studies. Astropecten acutiradiatus differs from A. alligator by having an enlarged spine in the first subambulacral row (vs. three (sub)equal spines); from A. antillensis by having an enlarged distal spine in the first subambulacral row (vs. enlarged central spine); from A. articulatus by having clavate paxillar spinelets (vs. paxillar spinelets granulose); from A. brasiliensis brasiliensis and A. duplicatus by the absence of enlarged spines on the distal superomarginal plates (vs. presence of enlarged spines on the distal superomarginal plates); from A. cingulatus and A. marginatus by having spines on the proximal superomarginal plates (vs. superomarginal spines absent). Astropecten antillensis differs from A. acutiradiatus, A. articulatus, A. brasiliensis brasiliensis and A. duplicatus by having an enlarged central spine in the first subambulacral row (vs. enlarged distal spine); from A. alligator by having an enlarged spine in the first subambulacral row (vs. three (sub)equal spines); from A. cingulatus and A. marginatus by having spines on the superomarginal plates (vs. superomarginal spines absent). Astropecten antillensis also differs from A. brasiliensis brasiliensis because its inner superomarginal (not the first pair) spine is smaller than the outer spine (vs. inner spine larger than outer spine). Astropecten brasiliensis brasiliensis differs from A. marginatus and A. cingulatus by having superomarginal spines (vs. superomarginal spines absent); from A. articulatus and A. duplicatus by having subambulacral spines with blunt tips (vs. spines truncated in two), and inferomarginal fringe spines oblique (vs. inferomarginal fringe spines horizontal); and from A. alligator by having an enlarged distal spine in the first subambulacral row (vs. (sub)equal spines). Astropecten cingulatus differs from A. marginatus by having inferomarginal plates densely covered with overlapping squamules and spines (vs. inferomarginal plates bare or with sparse, widely spaced squamules), and these two species differ from the other Brazilian Astropecten by having no spines on the superomarginal plates (vs. spines present).
Published as part of Cunha, Rosana, Martins, Luciana, Menegola, Carla & Souto, Camilla, 2021, Taxonomy of the sea stars (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from Bahia State, including ontogenetic variation and an illustrated key to the Brazilian species, pp. 1-78 in Zootaxa 4955 (1) on pages 15-18, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4955.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4691078
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