New asterinid seastars from the western Pacific Ocean (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) Author O’Loughlin, P. Mark Author Bribiesca-Contreras, Guadalupe text Memoirs of Museum Victoria 2017 Mem. Mus. Vic. 2017-12-31 76 121 132 http://dx.doi.org/10.24199/j.mmv.2017.76.03 journal article 10.24199/j.mmv.2017.76.03 1447-2554 8065178 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:488E9F74-5E69-42B1-A12A-4E5239D9998D Aquilonastra donia sp. nov. Zoobank LSID. http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: C41D2993-A090-4D51-A8B9-C15A29B271B3 Figures 1 , 2 , 3a–d . Material examined . Holotype . New Caledonia , Yaté reef flat, coll. Gaillande , July 1970 , MNHN-IE-2014-641 (original registration MNHN EcAs11855) (dry; many spinelets and pedicellariae lost with handling over time). Description . Asterinid seastar, five sub-equal rays, rays wide basally, bluntly rounded distally, R = 22 mm , r = 15 mm , rays merge at bases, inter-radial junction of rays shallow in-curved, central rays elevated and rounded abactinally, distinct broad inter-radial low non-papulate apron marginally, rays flat actinally, margin acute. No abactinal or actinal gonopores detected. Single madreporite.Not fissiparous.Superomarginal and inferomarginal plates sub-equal, superomarginal plates in discrete series, slightlylargerthanadjacentdistalabactinalplates, inferomarginal plates projecting outwards. Broad low marginal apron up to 7 plates across longitudinally, supported by internal superactinal plates; superambulacral plates present, small. Glassy convexities on cleared abactinal and actinal plates. Abactinal: disc discrete, small, demarcated irregularly by 5 wide doubly papulate radial plates and 5 smaller inter-radial plates; single conspicuous madreporite, above junction of bases of two rays; pedicellariae present inter-radially, proximally and distally, conspicuous, frequently longer than adjacent spinelets, each comprising two stout, in-curved pointed conical teeth, present on proximal edges of inter-radial plates over concave indentation for papula; abactinal plates imbricate, indented proximally for single papula; no regular carinal series of plates, but a few doubly papulate carinal plates along some proximal upper rays; few small secondary plates on disc, rays and marginal apron; abactinal papular plates in about 7 longitudinal series down each side of each ray, plates with elevated rounded proximal edge, about 20 papular plates in uppermost series, 1–2 in lowest series; distal inter-radial plates on apron in longitudinal series parallel to the rays and oblique curved series from the ray to the margin. Abactinal spinelets readily lost: up to at least 20 digitiform spinelets over crown of proximal plates, not in tufts, distal spinelets slender conical to subsacciform; up to about 5 slender conical spinelets per superomarginal plate. Actinal: inter-radial plates in longitudinal series parallel to the ambulacrum and oblique transverse series from the ambulacrum to the margin. Actinal spines per plate: oral 6, long digitiform to conical proximally, to short distally; suboral about 5, long conical proximally to short distally; furrow 4–5 long conical; subambulacral 4–5 long conical; actinal 2–3, mostly 2, long conical; inferomarginal up to about 16, thick digitiform actinally to thin conical subsacciform abactinally. Distribution . New Caledonia , reef flat. Etymology . Original collection record is New Hebrides , now New Caledonia , and named for the donia ending to Caledonia. Remarks . The long abactinal pedicellariae, with 2 conical pointed and curved valves that are frequently longer than adjacent spinelets, and actinal inter-radial plates with predominantly 2 spines, are distinguishing feature of Aquilonastra donia sp. nov. Other Aquilonastra species with prominent pedicellariae with differentiated valves (teeth) are distinguished by: Aquilonastra anomala (H.L. Clark, 1921 ) is fissiparous with multiple madreporites; Aquilonastra batheri ( Goto, 1914 ) has tufts of splayed abactinal spinelets, and up to 12 actinal inter-radial spines; Aquilonastra corallicola ( Marsh, 1977 ) is fissiparous and has two different forms of spinelets on the paxilliform upper ray plates; Aquilonastra coronata ( Martens, 1866 ) has irregularly distributed high paxilliform abactinal plates with two different forms of spinelets; Aquilonastra iranica ( Mortensen, 1940 ) has up to 5 doubly papulate proximal carinal plates and the spinelets on proximal abactinal plates are in small groups; Aquilonastra richmondi O’Loughlin and Rowe, 2006 has spinelets of two forms on abactinal plates; Aquilonastra rowleyi O’Loughlin and Rowe, 2006 has a disc that is delineated by a dense band of spinelets on wide radial plates, each plate with about 100 long thin pencil-like glassy spinelets; Aquilonastra shirleyae O’Loughlin, 2009 has spinelets in splayed clusters and up to 10 actinal inter-radial spines per plate; Aquilonastra watersi O’Loughlin and Rowe, 2006 has abactinal spinelets in clusters.