Astropecten cingulatus Sladen, 1883

Astropecten cingulatus Sladen, 1883: 266 [type locality: Pernambuco, Brazil, viz. Clark & Downey, 1992); Ventura et al. 2007: 231; Xavier, 2010: 75; Gondim et al. 2014: 21, fig. 5e–h; Lawrence et al. 2018: 130, figs. 2–3, 6, 8–10, 12–14, 17.

Distribution. North Carolina, Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil (Pernambuco, Vitória-Trindade Seamount Chain, Martin Vaz Archipelago, Trindade Island, Rio de Janeiro, Vitória Island-SP, São Paulo, Santa Catarina), Uruguay, Argentina, and Africa (Brito 1962; Tommasi, 1970, 1985; Carrera-Rodríguez & Tommasi, 1977; Tommasi & Aron, 1987; Manso, 1989; Clark & Downey, 1992; Ventura et al. 2007; Alvarado et al. 2008; Xavier, 2010; Alvarado & Solis-Marin, 2013). Depth range: 11 to 1350 m (Lawrence et al. 2018).

Color in life. Abactinal surface red or orange-red; actinal surface white (Bernasconi, 1957; Benavides-Serrato et al. 2011; Clark & Downey, 1992). Disk orange, fading to bright-pink arm tips. Fascioles of superomarginal plates dark red-brown (Cobb et al. 2019). Ventura et al. (2007) referred to Brazilian specimens with abactinal surface cream-color and actinal white (presumably based upon color in life individuals).

Habitats. Soft-bottom environments (Ventura et al. 2007). Muddy, sandy and rubble bottom (Alvarado & Solis- Marin, 2013).

Comments. Ventura et al. (2006) referred to a “ Astropectinidae ” from Martin Vaz in a list of echinoderms amassed during the REVIZEE-Central Program (Evaluation of the Living Resources in the Brazilian Economic Exclusive Zone, sampling station C5-48R, 23°53’S, 45°26’W, 52 m. See also Lavrado, 2006). Later on, Ventura et al. (2007) recorded A. cingulatus from the Trindade island [sic] on a distribution map without any further details. We had no access to this material and whether the records from Martin Vaz and Trindade are the same or not is yet to be determined.