Shallow-water reef ophiuroids (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) of Réunion (Mascarene Islands), with biogeographic considerations
Author
Boissin, Emilie
Author
Hoareau, Thierry B.
Author
Paulay, Gustav
Author
Bruggemann, J. Henrich
text
Zootaxa
2016
4098
2
273
297
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4098.2.4
13fb3418-fb61-410f-9ce2-93099f5344d7
1175-5326
255654
D446E3D3-5B5B-431A-80E6-1318638DFA27
Ophionereis porrecta
LYMAN, 1860
complex sp. 1
(UF-6437,
Fig. 4
h,
KC760063
)
Material.
1 spm, St. 3; 9 spms, St. 5; 2 spms, St. 7
Remarks.
Two colour forms of
O
. porrecta
occur on
Réunion
and they are genetically deeply divergent indicating that they represent two species. They are treated as sp. 1 and sp.
2 in
the
O
. porrecta
complex here. Species 1 shows little differentiation in COI sequence across the Indian Ocean from
Madagascar
to W
Australia
, but is deeply divergent from sister populations in the Pacific (Boissin
et al.
in revision). Specimens concur well with the description of the species: they have small radial shields, enlarged disc scales on the periphery, one supplementary arm plate on each side of the dorsal arm plates, genital papillae.
O
. porrecta
can be differentiated from
O
. degeneri
by its longer arm spines, the presence of larger marginal disc plates and smaller supplementary dorsal arm plates (Stöhr 2011). The mottled brown colour of sp. 1 matches Lyman’s description well. The
type
locality of
O
. porrecta
is unknown (
Lyman 1860
). Abundance: 2.
Distribution.
A widespread IWP species previously recorded from
Réunion
(
Guille & Ribes 1981
;
Stöhr
et al.
2008
) and Rodrigues (
Rowe & Richmond 2004
).