Linckia nodosa Perrier, 1875

Cunha, Rosana, Tavares, Marcos & Jr, Joel Braga De Mendonça, 2020, Asteroidea (Echinodermata) from shallow-waters of the remote oceanic archipelago Trindade and Martin Vaz, southeastern Atlantic, with taxonomic and zoogeographical notes, Zootaxa 4742 (1), pp. 31-56 : 40

Linckia nodosa Perrier, 1875

Linckia nodosa Perrier, 1875: 153 , 417 [type locality: unknown, viz. Clark & Downey, 1992].

Distribution. United States (North Carolina), Mexico, Cuba, Antilles, Venezuela, Brazil (Pará and Maranhão (present study), Trindade Island, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul), Saint Helena island, Canary Islands, Cape Verde ( Downey, 1968; Tommasi, 1970; Brito, 1971; Tommasi & Oliveira, 1976; Carrera-Rodriguez & Tommasi, 1977; Clark & Downey, 1992; Alvarado & Solis-Marin, 2013). Depth range: 35–475 m ( Clark & Downey, 1992).

Color in life. Dorsal plates cream-yellow, spaces between plates reddish-orange, pale tan underneath. Color in formalin: light purple ( Mortensen, 1933; Moore, 1960).

Habitats. Inhabits hard and soft substrates including coral reefs, rocky and sandy bottoms ( Pawson et al. 2009; Alvarado & Solis-Marin, 2013).

Comments. Linckia nodosa was recorded only once from Trindade (Praia dos Portugueses) based on a single specimen (R= 45) ( Brito, 1971). Brito (1971) referred the Trindade specimen to L. nodosa in that it had 5 arms (versus 6–7 arms of different sizes in L. guildingi ) and larger spines in the first row of ambulacral spines. Additionally, the surface of the arms and disc appeared more “coarse” and the actinal surface more flatter in L. guildingi . However, as currently accepted ( Clark & Downey,1992), L. nodosa is best recognized by the presence of small plates (secondary plates) between the larger primary plates of the abactinal surface, and large, raised hemispherical abactinal plates (versus absence of small plates between the larger primary plates and large, raised hemispherical abactinal plates in L. guildingi ). Because we have not been able to locate Brito’s specimen, confirmation as to whether the occurrence of L. nodosa in Trindade comes from confusion with L. guildingi cannot be ascertained here.

According to Clark & Downey (1992) L. nodosa and L. bouvieri are restricted to the western and eastern sides of the Atlantic, respectively. Recently, however, this purported distribution pattern has been confused by the record of L. bouvieri from the Mexican and Cuban coasts ( Alvarado & Solis-Marin, 2013), and the record of the L. nodosa to Cape Verde ( Downey, 1968). The morphological distinctness between L. nodosa and L. bouvieri needs further elaboration before any pattern of distribution is recognizable.