Ophiacantha aculeata Verrill, 1885a

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 : 33

Ophiacantha aculeata Verrill, 1885a

Reports for the Azores:

Ophiacantha aculeata Verrill, 1885 — $ Martynov & Litvinova 2008: 90–91, figs. 7A, 10.

Type locality: off Virginia, USA (37°50’00”N, 73°03’50”W) .

See: Verrill (1885a: 153; 1885b: 443–444); Koehler (1914a: 74–77, pl. 11, figs. 1–2); Martynov & Litvinova (2008).

Occurrence: North Atlantic deep waters, from off Virginia to New England, eastwards to Rockall Trough, the Bay of Biscay to Iberian Basin, including in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, from Reykjanes Ridge to the north of the Azores ( Martynov & Litvinova 2008).

Depth: 1,650–3,584 m ( AZO: 2,954–2,968 m; Martynov & Litvinova 2008) .

Habitat: soft sediments ( Globigerina ooze; Verrill 1885a).

Remarks: Ophiacantha aculeata was recently identified by Martynov & Litvinova (2008) among the material collected by G.O. Sars ( MAR–ECO expedition) at a station located at the northern border of the Azorean waters (sta 40/367: 42°55’N, 30°20’W, 2,954 –2,968 m). This species has been historically confused with O. fraterna Verrill, 1885c ( Martynov & Litvinova 2008), a species also considered at one point conspecific or a variety of O. bidentata ( Bruzelius, 1805) . See remarks under the latter species.