Pseudoboletia maculata Troschel, 1869

Filander, Zoleka, Samyn, Yves & Griffiths, Charles, 2019, Four notable additions to the South African echinoid fauna (Echinodermata, Echinoidea), ZooKeys 831, pp. 71-80 : 74-76

Pseudoboletia maculata Troschel, 1869 Fig. 1G, H

Pseudoboletia maculata Troschel, 1869: 96; Bell 1884: 110, pl. XIII; de Meijere 1904: 286-289, pl. XVII; Clark 1925: 131; Mortensen 1943: 532-534, pl. XLII, figs 4-5, pl. LV, figs 2, 5-6, 16-17, 21 [synonyms and distribution]; Clark and Rowe 1971: 142, 156 [distribution]; Schultz 2010: 264, figs 506-508; Conand et al. 2018: 115.

Identification.

Test large sized (70 mm) and low, hemispherical in shape. Ambulacra with pore-pairs arranged in a double series per compound plate, with one larger second ary non-crenulated tubercle outside the pore-pair. Interambulacra with sparsely and irregularly arranged same-sized tubercles, which increase in size towards ambitus. Apical system with smooth apical plates encircled by tubercles, ocular plates I and V appear to be insert. Periproct covered with numerous plates. Spines of uniform size, reddish brown and pinkish white. Denuded test white, with dark brown patches on interambulacra.

Material examined.

SAMC.A090126: two specimens collected by Roy Jackson from University of KwaZulu-Natal on an intertidal field trip in August 2015. One specimen is preserved as a naked corona and the other is complete with spines. Both specimens are preserved in 70 % ethanol.

Habitat.

Rocky shore.

Global distribution.

Indo-West Pacific: Ceylon to Australia, 10-100 m depth ( Mortensen 1943; Schultz 2010; Arachchige et al. 2017).

South African distribution.

East coast of South Africa, off Park Rynie (30.3187°S, 30.7425°E: approximate co-ordinates).

Remarks.

According to our present material, the ocular plates I and V appeared to be insert, which would be consistent with what is observed in other specimens of this species. This is the first South African record, representing a range extension southwards of this species from Madagascar ( Clark and Rowe 1971).