Styracaster elongatus Koehler, 1907a

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 : 83

Styracaster elongatus Koehler, 1907a

Reports for the Azores:

Styracaster elongatus Koehler, 1907 a— $ Koehler 1909: 33–38, pl. 19, figs. 5–6, pl. 20, figs. 1, 3–4, pl. 21, figs. 3–5; Madsen 1961: 110–113, fig. 19, pl. 10, figs. 1–2; Sibuet 1975: 101; García-Diez et al. 2005: 47.

Type locality: East of the Azores (37°17’N, 20°14’W) .

See: Madsen (1961); A.M. Clark & Downey (1992: 103–104, fig. 19k, pl. 27, fig. I).

Occurrence: Indian and Atlantic Oceans ( Madsen 1961); from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean deep waters (A.M. Clark & Downey 1992), eastwards to the Azores ( Koehler 1909), the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (SW Ireland; Howell et al. 2002) southwards to the Angola Basin ( Sibuet 1975).

Depth: 3,310 –6,600 m (A.M. Clark & Downey 1992); AZO: 4,020 m ( Koehler 1909).

Habitat: soft sediments, Globigerina ooze and sandy mud ( Madsen 1961).

Remarks: Styracaster elongatus is known from the Azores based on a single specimen reported by Koehler (1909; Princesse Alice, sta 527: 38°09’00”N, 23°15’45”W, 4,020 m). The scarcity of local records can be explained by the species’ known depth range both in the Azores (> 4,000 m) and through its geographical range (> 3,000 m).