Echinaster (Othilia) echinophorus (Lamarck, 1816)

Gondim, Anne Isabelley, Christoffersen, Martin Lindsey & Pereira Dias, Thelma Lucia, 2014, Taxonomic guide and historical review of starfishes in northeastern Brazil (Echinodermata, Asteroidea), ZooKeys 449, pp. 1-56 : 16-17

Echinaster (Othilia) echinophorus (Lamarck, 1816) Figures 11e-j, 12e-f

Asterias spinosa Retzius, 1805: 18.

Asterias echinophora Lamarck, 1816: 560.

Stellonia spinosa Nardo, 1834: 716.

Othilia spinosa Gray, 1840: 281.

Echinaster spinosus Müller & Troschel, 1842: 22.

Echinaster (Othilia) crassispina Verrill, 1868: 368.

Echinaster crassispinus Lütken, 1872: 285.

Echinaster echinophorus Perrier, 1875: 100-102. Brito 1962: 3. Lima-Verde 1969: 11. Avila-Pires 1983: 436-440, figs 6-7. Tommasi 1970: 16-17, figs 41-43. Tommasi and Aron 1988: 3. Fernandes et al. 2002: 422. Gondim et al. 2008: 155, fig. 3a. Alves et al. 2010: 757. Miranda et al. 2012: 144.

Othilia echinophora Fisher, 1919: 432.

Echinaster (Othilia) echinophorus Clark & Downey, 1992: 367-371. Magalhães et al. 2005: 63. Machado et al. 2008: 183-184. Lima and Fernandes 2009: 59. Gondim et al. 2011: 6, fig. 3e.

Material examined.

Rio Grande do Norte: Macau, Diogo Lopes, 4spec., UFPB/ECH.871, 09.XI.2007; Tubarão River, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1905,14.XI.2009; Tubarão River Mangrove, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1904, 31.I.2011; 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1913, 04.IX.2010; Mangrove on highway to Galinhos, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1914, 22.VI.1982. Paraíba: 7°03'50"S; 34°47'19"W, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.568, 21.III.2006; Lucena, Fagundes Beach, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.717, 22.IX.1995, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.728, 22.IX.1985; Cabedelo, Areia Vermelha reef, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.1464, 06.IV.2008; Cabedelo, Poço Beach, reefs facing Ponta de Campina, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1903, 28.II.2010; João Pessoa, 7°4'30" S; 34°46'56", 1spec., UFPB/ECH.725, 26.IV.2005; João Pessoa, Cabo Branco Beach, 3spec., UFPB/ECH.704, 2002, 4spec., UFPB/ECH.705, 9spec., UFPB/ECH.706, 04.IV.1981, 4spec., UFPB/ECH.707, 03.VII.1985, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.708, 17.II.1980, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.710, 01.IV.2006, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.711, V.1980, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.713, 06.XI.1983, 10spec., UFPB/ECH.714, 29.IV.2002, 3spec., UFPB/ECH.715, 13.XII.1985, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.719, 22.IX.1980, 3spec., UFPB/ECH.722, 09.II.2001, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.727, 09.IX.2006, 3spec., UFPB/ECH.870, 25.XI.2007, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1240, 22.IX.1980, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.1466, 13.XI.2008, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1911, 21.III.2000; João Pessoa, Ponta Seixas, 6spec., UFPB/ECH.139, 03.XI.1982, 3spec., UFPB/ECH.703, 23.X.1984, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.712, 25.V.1998; Seixas reef, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1172, 23.III.2008, 6spec., UFPB/ECH.1234, 03.XI.1982. 4spec., UFPB/ECH.1184, 22.XII.2007, 2spec., UFPB /ECH.1463, 12.I.2009. Pernambuco: Goiana, Catuama Beach, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1912, 31.X.1982. UFPB/ECH.873; Tamandaré, Carneiros Beach, 4spec., 15.X.1981. Alagoas: Marechal Deodoro, Francês Beach, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.721, 29.I.1983. Bahia: Itaparica, Pedrão de Itaparica, 8spec., UFPB/ECH.716, 18.IX.1982; Itaparica, Ponta de Aratuba, 7spec., UFPB/ECH.723, 19.X.1982; Itaparica, Barra Grande, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.726, 19.IX.1982; Prado, coral reef between Camaruxatiba and Ponta de Imbaçuaba, 3spec., UFPB/ECH.709, 14.X.1982, 2 spec., UFPB/ECH.724, 28.XI.1982; Santa Cruz da Cabrália, Ponta da Coroa Vermelha, 5spec., UFPB/ECH.720, 15.X.1982.

Type-locality.

‘Amérique du Nord’ (lectotype) ( Clark and Downey 1992).

Description.

Disk small (Fig. 11f). Body convex dorsally and flattened ventrally. Five (rarely three to six) short and thick arms, with a robust skeleton (Fig. 11f, g). Abactinal figs mammiform (Fig. 11j), with one large spine. Seven to 11 series of dorsal longitudinal spines. Anus normally positioned within central pentagone of disk and surrounded by 4-6 spines. Madreporite circular with numerous small granules and irregular grooves. Papular areas more numerous on abactinal and lateral regions of arms (Fig. 11h). Papular areas on actinal surface small and widely dispersed. Adambulacral figs with 3 to 4 spines arranged transversally (Fig. 11i).

Colour. Red, orange-red, becoming brownish-red when conserved in alcohol and dark brown when dry ( Verril 1915, Hendler et al. 1995).

Distribution.

Florida, the Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil ( Alvarado 2011, Benavides-Serrato et al. 2011). In Brazil: CE, RN, PB, PE, AL, BA, ES, and RJ, including Abrolhos ( Verrill 1915, Krau 1950, Brito 1962, Lima-Verde 1969, Tommasi 1970, Avila-Pirez 1983, Fernandes et al. 2002, Magalhães et al. 2005, Miranda et al. 2012). From 0 to 55 m in depth ( Hendler et al. 1995).

Remarks.

Echinaster (Othilia) echinophorus differs from Echinaster (Othilia) sentus for having few large and conspicuous spines on arms and a uniform colour ( Hendler et al. 1995). It differs from Echinaster (Othilia) brasiliensis for having thicker arms and mammiform abactinal figs. According to Atwood (1973), Echinaster (Othilia) echinophorus appears to contain several morphologically distinct forms or closely related species. For Walenkamp (1979) the number of series of dorsal longitudinal spines, which Perrier considered to be the main character for separating species in the genus, is quite variable. The examined specimens have a broad morphological variation, among which: number of rows of dorsal longitudinal spines (from 7 to 9), number of spines surrounding the anus (from 4 to 6) and number of granules on the madreporite (from 8 to 15). Notwithstanding, these morphological variations do not seem to be related to ontogenetic development, because even though specimens examined included both juvenile and adult individuals, the differences also affected specimens of the same size. An excellent discussion of the synonymies proposed for the different species of Echinaster (Othilia) echinophorus and of the taxonomic history of the species is found in Clark and Downey (1992) and Walenkamp (1979).

Ecological notes.

Lives usually in environments containing consolidated substrates ( Hendler et al. 1995), and may be found in estuarine regions ( Nobre and Campos-Creasey 2000). It feeds preferably on incrustating organisms belonging to the epifauna and on organic detritus deposited in the substrate ( Jangoux and Lawrence 1982). Kempf (1966) found that Echinaster (Othilia) echinophorus may occur in salinities up to 47. We found it in salinities of 52 ( Tubarão River/Rio Grande do Norte), forming dense populations. Alves and Dias (2010) commented on the use of this species for medicinal purposes and Machado et al. (2008) remarked that one of the main threats relates to its collecting for aquarists. Presently it is included among the Brazilian species vulnerable to extinction ( Machado et al. 2008).