Hymenaster roseus Koehler, 1907a

Madeira, Patrícia, Kroh, Andreas, Cordeiro, Ricardo, De, António M., Martins, Frias & Ávila, Sérgio P., 2019, The Echinoderm Fauna of the Azores (NE Atlantic Ocean), Zootaxa 4639 (1), pp. 1-231 : 60

Hymenaster roseus Koehler, 1907a

Reports for the Azores:

Hymenaster roseus $ Koehler, 1907a .: 21–23, 1909: 94–95, pl. 20, figs. 1, 11; Mortensen 1927a: 106;? $ Sibuet 1976: 293–295, fig. 5A; $ A.M. Clark & Downey 1992: 322–323, pl. 78, figs. E–F; García-Diez et al. 2005: 47; Dilman 2014: 36.

Type locality: Azores .

See: Koehler (1909); A.M. Clark & Downey (1992).

Occurrence: known only from the Azores (A.M. Clark & Downey 1992).

Depth: 1,846 –2,102 (?2,370) m ( AZO; Koehler 1909, A.M. Clark & Downey 1992).

Habitat: soft substrates, muddy sand to Globigerina ooze ( Koehler 1909).

Remarks: Koehler (1907a, 1909) described Hymenaster roseus , though clearly stating that the material collected by Princesse Alice in the Azores was in a very poor state. Sibuet (1976) found a specimen quite close to this species original description among the material collected south of S„o Miguel Island (Jean Charcot, Biacores cruise, sta 163BL: 37°26’30”N, 26°02’30”W, 2,370 m). However, Sibuet observed that the type material of H. roseus was in such deteriorate condition that any valid comparison was impossible. A.M. Clark & Downey (1992) re-examined Koehler’s original material and reinforced this concern remarking that the state of preservation of the type material was such that rendered it useless. These authors considered the reasons for Koehler erecting a new species rather weak, as the diagnosing characters are shared with many Hymenaster species. Furthermore, they observed that Koehler’s specimens are quite small. A.M. Clark & Downey (1992) stated that in the future H. roseus could prove to be an invalid species.