Ophiomusium lymani Thomson, 1873

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 : 50

Ophiomusium lymani Thomson, 1873

Reports for the Azores:

Ophiomusium lymani Thomson, 1873 — $ Lyman 1878: 113, 1882: 90; $ Koehler 1896a: 204, 1898: 42, 1906b: 264–265, 1909: 161, pl. 3, fig. 4, pl. 4, fig. 1, 1921a: 3; $ Sibuet 1972: 122; $ Paterson 1985: 147–148, fig. 58; Pérès 1992: 254, 255, 257, 258; García-Diez et al. 2005: 49.

Type locality: Rockall Trough, off SW of Ireland.

See: Paterson (1985).

Occurrence: cosmopolitan, recorded in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans ( Paterson 1985); in the Atlantic from the Davis Strait ( Mortensen 1933a) to Caribbean waters ( Koehler 1914a), eastwards from Iceland ( Mortensen 1933a) to southern Namibia ( Alva & Vadon 1989), including the Azores, Canaries and Tristan da Cunha ( Lyman 1882, Koehler 1906b).

Depth: 651– 4,829 m ( Paterson 1985); AZO: 1,384 –3,300 m ( Koehler 1898, Pérès 1992).

Habitat: soft sediments, clay, mud to ooze ( Lyman 1882, Koehler 1909); an opportunistic scavenger or carnivore that moves over or nestles into the sediment surface without burrowing ( Gage et al. 1983).

Larval stage: lecithotrophic ( Gage & Tyler 1982).

Remarks: Ophiomusium lymani was reported by almost every historical oceanographic expedition made in the Azores waters (e.g., H.M.S. Challenger, Hirondelle, Princesse Alice). Pérès (1992) commented that this species appears to be quite abundant in the Azores at depths between 2,000 and 3,300 m.