Henricia iodinea, Clark, Roger N. & Jewett, Stephen C., 2010

Clark, Roger N. & Jewett, Stephen C., 2010, A new genus and thirteen new species of sea stars (Asteroidea: Echinasteridae) from the Aleutian Island Archipelago, Zootaxa 2571, pp. 1-36 : 14-15

Henricia iodinea sp. nov.

Figures 27 –32

Type locality: Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Rat Islands, Rat Island (51º 49.594 N, 178º 27.184 E), 14 m. ( AKALE 07-A0031).

Type material: Holotype, LACM 2007-099.002, and 3 Paratypes, LACM 2007-099.003 (leg. R.N. Clark, 1 July, 2007; scuba 14 m); Paratype, USNM 1125117 (Type locality); Paratype, CASIZ 180538 Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Fox Islands, Avatanak Island (54º 05.188 N, 165º 22.839 W) (leg. R.N. Clark, 12 June, 2008; scuba 6 m); Paratype, UAM 8133 Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Islands of the Four Mountains, Carlisle Island (52º 53.973 N, 169º 59.730 W) (leg. R.N. Clark, 15 July, 2006; scuba 7 m) ( AKALE 06-0011).

Diagnosis: Relatively large, R to 16 cm (Holotype R = 5.3 cm), R:r 5.1:1; rough textured; disc relatively small, rays long, slender, tapering. Abactinal plates small, irregular, forming a fairly open reticulation in small animals, but quite tight in larger individuals; plates crowned with tight bundles of blunt-tipped spinelets. Marginals widely separated at base of rays; superomarginals slightly larger than abactinals, forming a distinctive ridge that curves up aborally at the base of the rays. Adambulacrals with nine to 12 spines. Color in life purple or violet abactinally, paler orally.

Description: Moderately large, R to 10.5 cm, r to 1.9 cm, R:r 5.1:1 ( Figs. 27 & 28); disc relatively small, rays long, slender, tapering. Abactinal plates ( Fig. 29 ) small (somewhat larger on disc), irregular, forming tight reticulation in large specimens, crowned with bundles of 20–30 short (to 0.5 mm), apically spinose, bluntly rounded spinelets; some plates slightly enlarged and spaced more closely together, forming irregular vermiform ridges, giving a rough texture. Madreporite small, circular and spinose. Marginal plates, widely separated at base of rays, supromarginal row somewhat larger than abactinals, sloping up prominently aborally at base of rays; intermarginals numerous (up to 10 rows) and small at ray arches, and proximal 1/5 of ray, diminishing to three irregularly staggered rows by just past mid ray, and finally a single irregular row which extends to about 80% of R; inferomarginals nearly twice as large as abactinals, about twice as high as wide; actinal interradials in two rows, submarginal row ending proximal to 1/3 of R, larger subadambulacral row, about as large or larger than inferomarginals extending to near ray tips. Adambulacrals ( Fig. 30 ) with a single deep furrow spine; actinal series with blunt tipped, sometimes bifurcate spines, one spine at the edge of the furrow, behind which are two slightly smaller spines followed by a group (usually three rows) of 9 to 12 smaller spines. Oral plates ( Fig. 31 ) with marginal series of four thick blunt, sometimes bifurcate spines, and four to ten smaller suboral spines. Color in life (Fig. 32), lavender, purple or violet abactinally, with yellowish ray tips rarely uniformly pale, pinkish lavender; actinal side paler.

Distribution: Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Fox Islands, Avatanak Island (54º 05.188 N, 165º 22.839 W) (leg. R.N. Clark, 12 June, 2008; scuba 6 m) to Rat Islands, Rat Island (51º 49.594 N, 178º 27.184 E) (leg. R.N. Clark, 1 July, 2007; scuba 14 m) (AKALE07-A0031), at depths of 5–20+ m. Henricia iodinea is a member of the Aleutian Province.

Habitat: Subtidal boulders and bedrock, typically on substrate with patches of large, encrusting brownish-yellow or red-orange sponges of unknown identity and various type of red algae.

Etymology: The name is from the Greek iodes, "violet-like in color", in reference to the vibrant purplishviolet or lavender abactinal coloration.

Remarks: This species is remarkable for the rough texture, and purplish aboral coloration as well as the distinctive superomarginal series, and is unlikely to be confused with other Henricia .

Figures

FIGURES 29 – 31. Henricia iodinea, Paratype, LACM 2007 - 099.003. Fig. 29, Close-up, abactinal surface. Bar = 5.0 cm. Fig. 30, Close-up, adambulacral region. Bar = 3.0 cm. Fig. 31, Close-up, oral region. Bar = 5.0 cm. FIGURE 32. Henricia iodinea, live in situ, Kiska Island (AKALE 07 - A 0084), 11 m (image: Reid Brewer, 30 June, 2007). R = approximately 7 cm.