Ophiacantha veterna 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 : 37

Ophiacantha veterna Koehler, 1907a

Reports for the Azores:

Ophiacantha veterna Koehler, 1907 a— $ Koehler 1921a: 2; Mortensen 1927a: 189; Martynov & Litvinova 2008: 96–97, fig. 11D;

Ophiacantha enopla veterna ( Koehler, 1907a) — Paterson 1985: 37, fig. 16; García-Diez et al. 2005: 49; $ St̂hr & Segonzac 2005: 386, 392;

Ophiacantha enopla Verrill, 1885 — Smirnov et al. 2014: 196.

Type locality: North of the Azores .

See: Koehler (1907a: 41–43; 1909: 189–190, pl. 29, figs. 3, 4); Paterson (1985); St̂hr & Segonzac (2005).

Occurrence: Northeast Atlantic, from Reykjanes Ridge ( Martynov & Litvinova 2008), eastwards from the Bay of Biscay to Western Sahara and Madeira, and southwards in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to south of the Azores ( Paterson 1985, St̂hr & Segonzac 2005).

Depth: 101– 2,460 m ( Koehler 1909, Paterson 1985); AZO: 1,330 –2,300 m ( Koehler 1921a; St̂hr & Segonzac 2005).

Habitat: soft substrates ( Koehler 1909), found associated with diverse sessile fauna (e.g., sponges, hydrozoans, gorgonians, colonial tunicates) and co-occurring with Asteroschema inornatum Koehler, 1906a ( St̂hr & Segonzac 2005).

Remarks: Ophiacantha veterna was demoted to a subspecies of O. enopla Verrill, 1885a by Paterson (1985), a species previously known only from off NE America. This decision was later revoked by Martynov & Litvinova (2008) by reinstating the species status. Regardless, O. veterna is known from Azores deep waters by relatively few material: two specimens collected near Santa Maria Island (Hirondelle II, sta 3137: 37°00’N, 25°00’W, 1,330 m; Koehler 1921a) and further two individuals from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge area (Marvel cruise, sta PL 1199–10: 36°32’16”N, 33°27’24”W, 2,300 m; St̂hr & Segonzac 2005).