Ophiotypa simplex Koehler, 1897a

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 : 26

Ophiotypa simplex Koehler, 1897a

Reports for the Azores:

Ophiotypa simplex Koehler, 1897 a— $ Cherbonnier & Sibuet 1972 t: 416; Paterson 1985: 144–145, fig. 55; Jesus & Fonseca 1999: 347, fig. 3; Martynov & Litvinova 2008: 81–82, fig. 2F; Smirnov et al. 2014: 204.

Type locality: Gulf of Bengal , Indian Ocean .

See: Koehler (1897a: 281–283, pl. 5, figs. 1–3); Paterson (1985); Martynov & Litvinova (2008).

Occurrence: cosmopolitan, present in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian deep waters; from the Venezuelan Basin in the Caribbean ( Paterson 1985) eastwards to the Azores ( Cherbonnier & Sibuet 1972) and? Portugal ( Jesus & Fonseca 1999), south to waters between Cape Verde and NW Africa ( Koehler 1906b); also recorded from the Reykjanes Ridge (S of Iceland; Martynov & Litvinova (2008).

Depth: (? 27 m) 1,670 –4,412 m ( Jesus & Fonseca 1999, Paterson 1985, Martynov & Litvinova 2008); AZO: 3,665 m ( Cherbonnier & Sibuet 1972).

Habitat: soft substrates ( Koehler 1909).

Remarks: historically, Ophiotypa simplex has been recorded at several locations between the Azores and Iberian waters (e.g., Koehler 1906b, 1909). Cherbonnier & Sibuet (1972) published the only report of this species inside the archipelago waters based on the material collected by Jean Charcot (Noratlante cruise, sta P63 E8: 36°48’05”N, 27°06W’, 3,665 m). The report from Portugal by Jesus & Fonseca (1999) may represent a different species since it was collected at 27 m, far too shallow for this abyssal species.