Ophiothrix (Ophiothrix) foveolata Marktanner-Turneretscher, 1887

Fatemi, Yaser & Stöhr, Sabine, 2019, Annotated species list of Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, with new records, Zootaxa 4711 (1), pp. 77-106 : 88

Ophiothrix (Ophiothrix) foveolata Marktanner-Turneretscher, 1887

Fig. 6

Ophiothrix foveolata Marktanner-Turneretscher, 1887: 313 , pl. 13, figs 32, 33.

Material examined: Gulf of Oman, Iran, Chabahar Bay (Hotel Lipar), intertidal, hand collected, April 2013, collector Yaser Fatemi, 2 spms (lost before measurements could be made).

Habitat: Intertidal hard bottom (present study) ( Fig. 2C ).

Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman: Chabahar Bay (17), new record (present study).

Indian Ocean: Northwestern India ( OBIS 2019), Indian Ocean ( Clark & Rowe 1971).

Remarks: The geographically closest record of O. foveolata previously reported was from northwestern India ( OBIS 2019), which suggests that our find extends its distribution northwards. This species is characterized by its distinct color pattern. The radial shields are demarcated by a dark purple line, the arms are banded in yellow, white and rose-purple, separated by thin dark purple bands. Our specimens showed faint dark purple dots in the center of each dorsal arm plate, which in one specimen are rings with lighter center rather than dots, the arm spines are a faded pink. This concurs with the description by Koehler (1922). It is a smaller species, with disc diameter less than 10 mm and arms about six times as long as the disc diameter (Koehler 1905, 1922). This also concurs with our specimens. The type locality is Aru Islands in Indonesia ( Marktanner-Turneretscher 1887).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Habitats at the sites where brittle stars were collected by the present study (see Table 1). A, Bandar Lengeh, B, Bustaneh, C, Chabahar Bay (Hotel Lipar), D, Chabahar Bay (University coast), E, Chabahar Bay (Tis), F, Qeshm Island.

FIGURE 6. Live photos of Ophiothrix (Ophiothrix) foveolata. Regrettably, the specimens were lost before disc measurements could be made. The average size of adults of this species is 5–6 mm disc diameter.