Amphipholis squamata

Stöhr, Sabine, Çinar, Melih Ertan & Dagli, Ertan, 2010, Brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from the southern coast of Turkey (eastern Mediterranean): new records and revision of Amphiodia obtecta Mortensen, 1940, Zootaxa 2483, pp. 45-57 : 51-53

Amphipholis squamata (delle Chiaje, 1828)

Material examined. ESFM-ECH/2005-7, 15.9.2005, Iskenderun Bay, K11, 1 m, on Jania rubens , 5 specimens; ESFM-ECH/2005-8, 15.9.2005, Iskenderun Bay, K11, 2 m, on Cystoseira elegans , 2 specimens; ESFM-ECH/2005-9, 20.9.2005, Bogsak, K20, 25 m, on Jania rubens , 3 specimens; ESFM-ECH/ 2005-10, 10.9.2005, Iskenderun Bay, G5, 25 m, muddy sand, 1 specimen.

Distribution. The species is widely distributed in the Mediterranean Sea ( Pérez-Ruzafa & López-Ibor 1988), which is also its type locality (at Naples, Italy). It has long been assumed to have a cosmopolitan distribution, but recent molecular studies suggest that it is a cryptic species complex ( Le Gac et al. 2004). Morphological differences between the genetic clades remain to be discovered.