Asterinides folium (Lütken, 1860)

Asteriscus folium Lütken, 1860: 60, 61 [type locality: Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, viz. O’Loughlin 2002]

Asterina folium – Clark & Downey, 1992: 182 .

Asterinides folium – Oliveira et al. 2010: 3, fig. 2a; Benavides-Serrato et al. 2011: 150; Gondim et al. 2014: 24, figs. 7a–e.

Distribution. Bermudas, Florida, Mexico, Bahamas, Belize, Panama, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil (Paraíba, Bahia, Vitória-Trindade Seamount Chain, Trindade Island and Rio de Janeiro) (Verrill, 1915; Brito, 1962; 1968, 1971; Clark & Downey, 1992; Hendler et al. 1995; Alvarado et al. 2008; Oliveira et al. 2010; Benavides- Serrato et al. 2011; Alvarado & Solis-Marin, 2013; Gondim et al. 2014). Depth range: 0–15 m (Clark & Downey, 1992).

Color in life. Color varies with size. Clark & Downey (1992) reported small specimens to be are nearly white, turning “cream to yellow to reddish yellow or more often greenish”, whilst large specimens were “olive- or bluishgreen to blue”. The specimens recorded from Trinidad Island by Brito (1968) were dark grayish-blue.

Habitat. Coral reefs, rocky, sandy and rubble bottoms (Pawson et al. 2009; Alvarado & Solis-Marin, 2013); commonly found under rocks or corals of the reef flat (Brito, 1971; Hendler et al. 1995). The Trindade specimens were found under rocks (Brito, 1968; 1971).

Comments. Brito (1962; 1968; 1971) briefly reported on 25 specimens of A. folium (radio up to 8 mm) amassed by H. Rodrigues da Costa in Trindade at the Enseada dos Portugueses, most certainly in the intertidal zone. Curiously enough, despite its very small size and intertidal habits, A. folium has never been reported from Trindade again since, nor has it been collected by us there.