Styracaster armatus Sladen, 1883

Madeira, Patrícia, Kroh, Andreas, Cordeiro, Ricardo, De, António M., Martins, Frias & Ávila, Sérgio P., 2019, The Echinoderm Fauna of the Azores (NE Atlantic Ocean), Zootaxa 4639 (1), pp. 1-231 : 82

Styracaster armatus Sladen, 1883

Reports for the Azores:

Styracaster spinosus $ Perrier, 1885c: 55–59, 1894: 223–226 , pl. 17, fig. 2; Sladen 1889: 728; $ Koehler 1909: 39–40; $ Madsen 1961: 121–123, fig. 37;

Styracaster armatus Sladen, 1883 —A.M. Clark & Downey 1992: 102–103, pl. 27, figs. G–H; García-Diez et al. 2005: 47; Dilman 2008: 137, 2013: 568–569.

Type locality: off the Caroline Islands (Pacific, 7°45’N, 144°20’E) .

See: Madsen (1961); A.M. Clark & Downey (1992).

Occurrence: cosmopolitan, known from the Atlantic, Indian and West Pacific deep waters (A.M. Clark & Downey 1992); in the Atlantic from the Guyana Basin eastwards in the waters between NW Africa and the Cap Verde Archipelago ( Perrier 1894) and in the Canary Basin north to the Porcupine Seabight (SW of Ireland; A.M. Clark & Downey 1992); in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, from the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone ( Dilman 2008) south to the Azores ( Koehler 1909).

Depth: 2,700 –5,422 m ( Dilman 2013); AZO: 2,995 –4,020 m ( Perrier 1894, Koehler 1909).

Habitat: soft substrates, Globigerina ooze, mud or muddy sand ( Madsen 1961).

Remarks: Perrier (1885b, c, 1894) described Styracaster spinosus based on two specimens collected by Talisman in the Azores (sta 131, 1883: 38°38’00”N, 25°05’46”W, 2,995 m). Koehler (1909) also reported this species from the Azores based on animals collected by Princesse Alice at two stations (sta 527: 38°09’00”N, 23°15’45”W, 4,020 m; sta 745: 38°05’00”N, 23°50’15W ”, 3,465 m). The material from both cruises was later reviewed by Madsen (1961) in his review of the family Porcellanasteridae as it was the only material known to belong with certainty to this species. Regardless, this species is now considered conspecific with the cosmopolitan S. armatus (A.M. Clark & Downey 1992) .