Ophioplinthus inornata ( Lyman, 1878 )

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 : 48-49

Ophioplinthus inornata ( Lyman, 1878)

Reports for the Azores:

Ophioglypha inornata Lyman, 1878 — $ Koehler 1906b: 262–263;

Homalophiura inornata ( Lyman, 1878) — Mortensen 1927a: 231;

Ophiura inornata ( Lyman, 1878) — $ A.H. Clark 1948: 78;

Ophiurolepis inornata ( Lyman, 1878) — Paterson 1985: 138–139, fig. 53; Smirnov et al. 2014: 206.

Type locality: off S. Paulo Rocks (1°47’N, 24°26’W).

See: Lyman (1878: 97, pl. 2, figs. 26–27); Paterson (1985); Martynov & Litvinova (2008: 85–7, figs. 6G).

Occurrence: cosmopolitan, recorded in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic; in the Atlantic from South America, Falkland Islands, Caribbean, Saint Paul Rocks, eastwards to off Cape Blanc ( NW Africa), including the Azores ( Paterson 1985).

Depth: 242– 3,385 m ( Lyman 1878, Mortensen 1936); AZO: 2,995 –3,200 m ( Koehler 1906b, A.H. Clark 1948).

Habitat: soft sediments ( Globigerina ooze; Lyman 1878).

Larval stage: non-brooding, direct or lecithotrophic development ( Mortensen 1936).

Remarks: the presence of O. inornata in the Azores was first reported by Koehler (1906b; Talisman , sta 131, 1883: 38°28'N, 25°05'46"W, 2995 m). Later, A. H. Clark (1948) also identified material belonging to this species from the Azores, but referred to it as from west of Gibraltar ( Atlantis sta 15: 35°37'N, 30°51' W; 3,200 m).