<documentid="BF94E8E931F0EA6887054EA3C0954CB3"ID-CLB-Dataset="36064"ID-DOI="http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.406.6306"ID-GBIF-Dataset="55d5baff-cd30-4844-b698-b7fae691df9f"ID-PMC="PMC4023249"ID-Pensoft-Pub="1313-2970-406-101"ID-PubMed="24843284"ModsDocAuthor=""ModsDocDate="2014"ModsDocID="1313-2970-406-101"ModsDocOrigin="ZooKeys 406"ModsDocTitle="Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) from coral reefs in the Mexican Pacific"checkinTime="1451245920163"checkinUser="pensoft"docAuthor="Granja-Fernandez, Rebeca, Herrero-Perezrul, Maria D., Lopez-Perez, Ramon A., Hernandez, Luis, Rodriguez-Zaragoza, Fabian A., Jones, Robert Wallace & Pineda-Lopez, Ruben"docDate="2014"docId="01C17D4BC0DD2DA4F8B0B1F88595ED0C"docLanguage="en"docName="ZooKeys 406: 101-145"docOrigin="ZooKeys 406"docSource="http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.406.6306"docTitle="Ophiocoma aethiops Luetken 1859"docType="treatment"docVersion="5"lastPageNumber="126"masterDocId="FFD1FF801876FF9BFFB6FFD14D68972F"masterDocTitle="Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) from coral reefs in the Mexican Pacific"masterLastPageNumber="145"masterPageNumber="101"pageNumber="124"updateTime="1732741488367"updateUser="ExternalLinkService">
<paragraphid="37F5BD72A60C3D6426F4532E969D62F6"pageId="23"pageNumber="124">Disk rounded (dd = 1.1 to 29.4 mm) and totally covered by fine granulation. The granulation covers the base of arms and the radial shields (Fig. 5D). The ventral side of the disc covered with scattered grains (Fig. 5E). Oral shields large, oblong; longer than wide. Adoral shields small, triangular and not meeting within. Cluster of rounded dental papillae on apex of jaw. Four oral papillae on each side of the jaw, the outer papillae being the largest. Four to five teeth (Fig. 5F). Dorsal arm plates wider than long, hexagonal shape (Fig. 5B). Ventral arm plates quadrangular with circular edges. Reduced lateral arm plates. Arm spines rounded, stout and slightly flattened. Arm spines, three and four, alternating. Two tentacle scales (Fig. 5C). Dorsal side dark brown-black in color. Disk with a brown large spot (Fig. 5A). Ventral arm plates and jaw with lighter dark color (Fig. 5K).</paragraph>
. A dorsal view. Scale bar = 15 mm B dorsal view of the arm C ventral view of the arm D dorsal view of the disk E ventral view of the disk F jaw. Scale bar = 5 mm.
G dorsal view H dorsal view of the arm I ventral view of the arm. Scale bar = 15 mm J dorsal view of the disk K ventral view of the disk. L jaw. Scale bar = 5 mm.
<bibRefCitationid="4C3D88C031F4A5B4F9412E85FA3FB4ED"author="Clark, HL"journalOrPublisher="Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zooelogy"pageId="37"pageNumber="138"pagination="164 - 376"title="Catalogue of recent ophiurans: Based on the collection of the Museum of Comparative Zooelogy."volume="25"year="1915">Clark HL 1915</bibRefCitation>
<bibRefCitationid="736A4CC40037DE3086555248FBFBA82D"author="Hooker, Y"journalOrPublisher="Revista Peruana de Biologia"pageId="39"pageNumber="140"pagination="77 - 82"title="Echinoderms from Lobos de Afuera islands (Lambayeque, Peru)."volume="12"year="2005">Hooker et al. 2005</bibRefCitation>
<bibRefCitationid="48B56FD709C4D0C08AE36EC65705CBF6"author="Neira, R"journalOrPublisher="Revista de Biologia Tropical"pageId="40"pageNumber="141"pagination="195 - 206"title="Composicion taxonomica y distribucion de las asociaciones de equinodermos en los ecosistemas litorales del Pacifico Colombiano."volume="53"year="2005">Neira and Cantera 2005</bibRefCitation>
<bibRefCitationid="6204640FA72FB342D8A1BEAE3B79F764"author="Alvarado, JJ"journalOrPublisher="Marine Biodiversity"pageId="36"pageNumber="137"pagination="45 - 56"title="Echinoderm (Echinodermata) diversity in the Pacific coast of Central America."url="10.1007/s12526-009-0032-5"volume="40"year="2010">Alvarado et al. 2010</bibRefCitation>
). In Mexico, from the Gulf of California (Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa), on the Pacific side of Baja California and Baja California Sur, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Revillagigedo Islands,
<bibRefCitationid="5CA5715EEC4C3CBCBA1C2119AE5446FC"author="Solis-Marin, FA"journalOrPublisher="Revista de Biologia Tropical"pageId="41"pageNumber="142"pagination="123 - 137"title="Equinodermos (Echinodermata) del Golfo de California, Mexico."volume="53"year="2005">
<bibRefCitationid="5243408ED7C7126DABA718496AD2BFB9"author="Granja-Fernandez, MR"journalOrPublisher="Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad"pageId="38"pageNumber="139"pagination="1320 - 1323"title="Nuevos registros de ofiuroideos (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) para localidades de Zihuatanejo (Guerrero) y Puerto Escondido (Oaxaca), Pacifico mexicano."volume="82"year="2011">
<bibRefCitationid="0A96006C25D6CB2E63B7CB215E42165F"author="Maluf, LY"journalOrPublisher="Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Technical Reports"pageId="40"pageNumber="141"pagination="1 - 242"title="Composition and distribution of the Central Eastern Pacific Echinoderms."volume="2"year="1988">Maluf 1988</bibRefCitation>
is the largest brittle star on coral reefs from the Mexican Pacific. It is associated with live and dead stony coral, rocks, algae and rhodoliths. Juvenile organisms inhabit all the above mentioned substrata, meanwhile adults inhabit the interstitial spaces of live and dead stony corals and rocks. We observed that it is common to find juveniles attached to the dorsal side of the arms and disk of adults; an observation that has been previously recorded by
<bibRefCitationid="7331E253C00E29F1850347C0B41C66FC"author="Benitez-Villalobos, F"journalOrPublisher="Aquatic Biology"pageId="37"pageNumber="138"pagination="119 - 128"title="Reproductive biology of Ophiocoma aethiops and O. alexandri (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from Estacahuite Bay, Oaxaca, Mexico."url="10.3354/ab00467"volume="17"year="2012">
<bibRefCitationid="F110181BF3A30B6206A15F688CCB61FF"author="Hendler, G"editor="Stancyk, SE"journalOrPublisher="University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC"pageId="38"pageNumber="139"pagination="145 - 156"title="Reproductive periodicity of ophiuroids (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Panama."volumeTitle="Reproductive ecology of marine invertebrates"year="1979">Hendler 1979</bibRefCitation>
<bibRefCitationid="0A8FC010A8D179D5CEE2EA37D10E43E9"author="Benitez-Villalobos, F"journalOrPublisher="Aquatic Biology"pageId="37"pageNumber="138"pagination="119 - 128"title="Reproductive biology of Ophiocoma aethiops and O. alexandri (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from Estacahuite Bay, Oaxaca, Mexico."url="10.3354/ab00467"volume="17"year="2012">
). Besides the color pattern mentioned in the description of the species, we noted that some specimens can have a large white patch on the dorsal side of the disk, whereas the whole body of other specimens are black-brownish.
OAXACA:Playa Coral (1 specimen, stony coral, 2.3 m, 10/09/2010, ICML-UNAM 10281); Puerto Angelito (2 specimens, rock, 10 m, 23/04/2012, ICML-UNAM 10509); El Zapatito (2 specimens, rock, 23/04/2009, ICML-UNAM 10224); Punto de
