Linckia guildingi Gray, 1840

Gondim, Anne Isabelley, Christoffersen, Martin Lindsey & Pereira Dias, Thelma Lucia, 2014, Taxonomic guide and historical review of starfishes in northeastern Brazil (Echinodermata, Asteroidea), ZooKeys 449, pp. 1-56 : 13-14

Linckia guildingi Gray, 1840 Figure 10a-e, 12d

Linckia guildingii Gray, 1840: 285. Tommasi 1958: 17. Brito 1962: 3; 1968: 4-5, pl. 1, fig. 3; 1971: 262. Lima-Verde 1969: 11. Tommasi and Aron 1988: 3. Tommasi et al. 1988: 6. Fernandes et al. 2002: 422. Gondim et al. 2008: 154.

Linckia pacifica Gray, 1840: 285.

Ophidiaster ornithopus Müller & Troschel, 1842: 31

Ophidiaster ehrenbergi Müller & Troschel, 1842: 31

Linckia ornithopus Verrill, 1867: 344.

Linckia nicobarica Lütken, 1872: 265.

Linckia ehrenbergi Loriol, 1885: 31.

Linckia guildingi Verrill, 1907: 325. Miranda et al. 2012: 144.

Material examined.

Paraíba: 6°29'S; 34°48'W, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1235, 04.VI.1981, 30m; 6°29'S; 34°51'W, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1244, 05.VI.1981, 22m; 6°33'S; 34°51'W, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1243, 04.VI.1981, 20m; 7°01'S; 34°30'W, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1856, 13.II.1981, 26m; 7°01'S; 34°30'W, 3spec., UFPB/ECH.1238, 13.II.1981, 26m; 7°04'S; 34°44'W, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1237, 16.II.1981, 16m; 7°12'5"S; 34°36'W, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1241, 01.IV.1981, 26m; 7°28'S; 34°34'W, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1242, 06.V.1981, 30m; João Pessoa, Cabo Branco Beach, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1159, 19.II.2003. 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1160, 04.XI.2006, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1161, 06.X.1979; 3spec., UFPB/ECH.1236, 25.X.2007, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1245, 16.V.2007, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1246, 19.IV.2005; 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1247, 08.IX.2006, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.1248, 25.X.2007, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1250, 03.VII.2004, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1479, 13.XI.2008, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1502, 08.II.2009, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1867, III.2007. Pernambuco: Paulista, Pau Amarelo reef, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1845, 08.XI.1982. Alagoas: Paripueira, Paripueira Beach, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.1851, 01.II.1983; Maceió, Ponta Verde Beach, 1spec., UFSITAB-199, I.2007, 1spec., UFSITAB-200, I.2007; Marechal Deodoro, Francês Beach, 5spec., UFPB/ECH.1855, 29.I.1983, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.1847, 20.XII.1984, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1849, 19.II.1985, 2spec., UFPB/ECH.1857, 19.II.2011. Bahia: Salvador, Itapoã Beach, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1848, 21.XII.1984; Itaparica, Pedrão, 4spec., UFPB/ECH.1853, 18.IX.1982; Itaparica, Barra Grande, 1spec., UFPB/ECH.1854, 17.IX.1982; Santa Cruz da Cabrália, Ponta da Coroa Vermelha, 5spec., UFPB/ECH.1846, 15.X.1982; Santa Cruz da Cabrália, Ponta do Mutá reef, 5spec., UFPB/ECH.1850, 16.X.1982; Porto Seguro, Ponta Grande reef, 5spec., UFPB/ECH.1852, 15.X.1982.

Type-locality.

Saint Vincent, West Indies ( Clark and Downey 1992).

Description.

Disk small. From four to six long, thin, cylindrical arms (Fig. 10a, b). Abactinal and actinal surfaces granuliform. Two or more madreporites. Abactinal figs rounded, inflated, irregularly arranged. Among these figs there are papular areas with 5-23 pores (Fig. 10c). Papular areas restricted to abactinal surface. Superomarginal and inferomarginal figs similar and uniform in size, separated by a row of papular areas. Actinal figs forming 2-3 series, which extend to the tip of the arms and are covered by granules a little larger than those on abactinal surface. Adambulacral figs with two short, blunt, parallel spines, one being much larger than the other (Fig. 10d). Behind these there is one wide, thick, blunt, ambulacral spine. Oral spines slightly longer (~0.68 mm) than remaining spines, having their tips rounded (Fig. 10e). Ocular figs also granulose.

Colour. Extremely variable, usually juveniles and adults having different colours ( Hendler et al. 1995). Juvenile individuals have brown, red or violet spots, while adults are uniformly reddish-brown, yellowish-brown, violet, or olive-green ( Brito 1960, Hendler et al. 1995, Benavides-Serrato et al. 2011). In the Brazilian material the most common colour observed is brown and yellow.

Distribution.

Tropicopolitan ( Tommasi 1970, Alvarado et al. 2008). It also occurs throghout the tropical Indo-West Pacific. In Brazil: PB, PE, AL, BA, RJ, and SP, including Abrolhos and Trindade Island ( Rathbun 1879, Verrill 1915, Bernasconi 1955, Tommasi 1958, Brito 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, Lima-Verde 1969, Tommasi and Aron 1988, Fernandes et al. 2002, Magalhães et al. 2005, Gondim et al. 2008, Miranda et al. 2012). From 0 to 298 m in depth ( Clark and Downey 1992).

Remarks.

Two species of the genus Linckia are known for the Brazilian coast, Linckia guildingi and Linckia nodosa Perrier, 1875, the latter recorded only for south and southeastern Brazil. Tommasi and Aron (1988) cite Ophidiaster guildingi Gray, 1840 for southeast Bahia, a locality we were not able to confirm. Linckia guildingi differs from Linckia nodosa for having small triangular abactinal figs, 18-30 pores per papular area, and two subambulacral spines. Juvenile individuals of Linckia guildingi may be confused with Ophidiaster guildingi Gray, 1840, which have the same colour and occupy the same habitat ( Hendler et al. 1995). Ophidiaster guildingi differs from Linckia guildingi for having less than 15 pores per papular area. Although we observed both juvenile and adult individuals, no morphological variations were noted.

Ecological notes.

This species lives in environments with consolidated substrates or sand banks among reefs ( Machado et al. 2008). It has cryptic habits, being found mostly under rocks. Possibly Linckia guildingi uses the film of microorganisms adhered to the substrate as food ( Hendler et al. 1995; Machado et al. 2008). According to Brito (1971) this species is abundant along the northeastern coast of Brazil. However, its populations are becoming reduced, especially in southeastern Brazil. The species is presently included among the species vulnerable to extinction ( Machado et al. 2008). Linckia guildingi is known for its strong propensity to autotomize and its capacity to regenerate. Specimens with four, six or seven arms are common ( Tommasi 1958).