Hippasteria falklandica Fisher, 1940

Mah, Christopher L., 2011, Taxonomy of high-latitude Goniasteridae (Subantarctic & Antarctic): one new genus, and three new species with an overview and key to taxa, Zootaxa 2759, pp. 1-48 : 27

Hippasteria falklandica Fisher, 1940

Fisher, 1940: 125; Bernasconi, 1973: 287; Clark & Downey, 1992: 247; Mein, 1992: 245; Stampanato & Jangoux, 2004: 4, 6; McKnight, 2006: 97.

Occurrence. Falkland Islands (= Islas Malvinas), northern Argentina, Marion and Prince Edwards Islands region to south of Tasmania, approx. 49°S, 150°E. 225–1148 m.

Description. Body stellate with arms, elongate tapering. R/r=3.8.

Abactinal plates small, lobate, ovoid or irregular in outline with center of plate raised. Plates closely spaced at disk center with lobes “immersed in membrane”. Raised area of plates with granules, one to five, varying in size. If only one or two, then those granules are larger and hemispherical. Smaller granules with variable sizes and may be flattened. Large granules up to 1.5 mm in diameter. Surface covered by abundant, partly embedded bivalve or in some cases-trivalved pedicellariae, each with a narrow rim. Papulae, one to three between plates, widespread between abactinal plates, absent near armtip. Madreporite large, strongly tumid, subcircular.

Marginal plates relatively small. Marginal plates covered by unequal, coarse granules with irregularly placed granules and tubercles. Smaller granules angular and flat-topped whereas larger granules are more tubercular with diameter larger then those on abactinal plates. Marginals often with a large, bivalved pedicellariae. Approximatley 44 to 50 superomarginals in each interbrachial arc. Most superomarginals longer then wide with the distalmost nine to ten slightly wider then long. Inferomarginals wider than long throughout and larger then superomarginals except at armtip. Terminal plate small and covered by granules.

Actinal intermediate plates irregular in outline, covered by flat-topped granules, with nearly all plates occupied by an elongate bivalve pedicellariae. Pedicellariae adjacent to adambulacrals sometimes curved. Adambulacral plates narrow, wider then long. Furrow spines two (sometimes three), compressed and blunt-tipped. Subambulacral granules three to eight on each plate, unequal in size, often one to two are tubercule-like. Distal plates with smaller granules and single, large tubercle. First two adambulacral plates, furrow spine series replaced with bivalve pedicellariae. Most other plates lack pedicellariae though one is often on the adjacent actinal. Oral plates large, prominent with five to six flat furrow spines which are longer then the adambulacral furrow spines. Actinal surface with large angular and irregular granules.