Ophionereis reticulata (Say, 1825)

Gondim, Anne I., Alonso, Carmen, Dias, Thelma L. P., Manso, Cynthia L. C. & Christoffersen, Martin L., 2013, A taxonomic guide to the brittle-stars (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) from the State of Paraiba continental shelf, Northeastern Brazil, ZooKeys 307, pp. 45-96 : 62

Ophionereis reticulata (Say, 1825) Figure 9 a–e

Description.

Diskcircular to pentagonal (dd = 1.94 to 6.59 mm). Covered by numerous small and imbricating scales (Fig. 9a). Radial shields small, triangular, elongated and largely separated (Fig. 9a). Aboral surface of disk finely reticulated by fine brownish lines (Fig. 9a). Bursal slits large and with genital papillae (Fig. 9b). Oral shields diamond-shape, longer than wide (Fig. 9c). Adoral shields distally flaring. Three to five oral papillae on each side of jaw angle (Fig. 9c). Distal oral papilla slightly larger, other papillae diminishing progressively in size towards the mouth. Two to three apical papillae. Dorsal arm plates as wide as long, with rounded borders (Fig. 9d). Accessory dorsal arm plates well developed, not touching the neighbouring dorsal plates. Three slightly flattened spines on lateral arm plates (Fig. 9e). Single large, rounded, tentacle scale. Dark brown band (same colour as disk reticulation) along one arm segment, alternated by 3-6 light bands (Fig. 9d).

Distribution.

Bermuda, North Carolina, South Carolina offshore reefs, Florida and the islands off southern Florida, the Bahamas, Texas offshore reefs, the Antilles, Mexican Caribbean, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, coast and islands off Caribbean Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil ( Hendler et al. 1995, Chavarro et al. 2004, Durán-Gonzáles et al. 2005, Alvarado et al. 2008, Hernández-Herrejón et al. 2008). In Brazil from Maranhão ( Albuquerque 1986), Paraíba ( Gondim et al. 2008), Pernambuco ( Fernandes et al. 2002), Alagoas ( Miranda et al. 2012), Bahia ( Brito 1962), Abrolhos, off southern Bahia ( Tommasi 1970), Rio de Janeiro ( Brito 1960) and São Paulo ( Brito 1962). Intertidal to 560 m. Found between 10 and 33 m in this study.

Remarks.

Occurs in moderate densities in seagrass beds, and on sand with pebbles ( Hendler et al. 1995). It is known for its cannibalistic and predatory habit ( Majer et al. 2009). Ophionereis reticulata is common in shallow waters, living in reef zones under rocks, in coral fragments, and among algae. It has nocturnal habits. Autotomy is frequent ( Ventura et al. 2007). It displays negative phototaxy, prefering dark crevices ( Borges and Amaral 2005). The species is omnivorous, but feeding mainly on food of vegetable origin ( Yokoyama and Amaral 2008). The ambulacral feet are used to dig, to maintain a flow of particles for feeding, including algae and diatom filaments from the surface sediment, and for locomotion ( Hendler et al. 1995). The moderately large eggs suggest that this species has a lecithothrophic development ( Hendler and Littman 1986). Ophionereis reticulata has been recorded in commensal association with the polychaete Malmgreniella variegata (Treadwell, 1917) ( Pettibone 1993, Santa-Isabel et al. 1996, Martin and Britayev 1998), and Hesione picta ( De Assis et al. 2012). This worm-brittle star symbiosis has also been reported for Ophionereis annulata (Le Conte, 1851) in the Gulf of Panama, suggesting that the association predates the Pliocene separation of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans ( Hendler et al. 1995). According to Clark (1953) this species is closely related to Ophionereis annulata (Le Conte, 1851), which differs as to the length of the arm spine, aspect of the dorsal arm accessory plate, and reticulate pattern of the disc. The reticulate pattern is a taxonomic character widely used in distinguishing among the species of the genus Ophionereis . Unfortunately the material studied has lost much of this information. But the characters of the arms were important in distinguishing species.