Ophiacantha smitti Ljungman, 1872

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 : 36-37

Ophiacantha smitti Ljungman, 1872

Reports for the Azores:

Ophiacantha smitti Ljungman, 1872 — $ St̂hr & Segonzac 2005: 286.

Type locality: Portugal (38°10’N, 9°25’W) .

See: Ljungman (1872: 621–622); Paterson (1985: 46–47, fig. 20).

Occurrence: North Atlantic, from the Bay of Biscay south to off Western Sahara ( Paterson 1985, Bartsch 1987), including the Azores ( St̂hr & Segonzac 2005) and Madeira ( Jesus & Abreu 1998); also off Bermuda ( Lyman 1882).

Depth: 75– 2,282 m ( Jesus & Abreu 1998, Paterson 1985); AZO: 1,550 m ( St̂hr & Segonzac 2005).

Habitat: soft bottoms, muddy sand ( Jesus & Fonseca 1999) to grey ooze ( Lyman 1882).

Remarks: Ophiacantha smitti , a species known from both sides of the Atlantic, is one of the more recent additions to the deep-water echinoderm fauna from the Azores, identify by St̂hr & Segonzac (2005) in a non-vent area near Lucky Strike (L’Atalante, Victor 1ère cruise, sta PL 33: 37°15’45”N, 32°13’30”W, 1,550 m).