New Ecological Observations and Occurrence for Asteroidea and Echinoidea in Hong Kong Author Yiu, Sam King Fung 0000-0001-6212-7339 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. cyclesamyiu @ hotmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0001 - 6212 - 7339 cyclesamyiu@hotmail.com Author Mah, Christopher L. 0000-0001-6212-7339 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. cyclesamyiu @ hotmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0001 - 6212 - 7339 & Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C. brisinga @ gmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 0178 - 8237 & School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. cyclesamyiu @ hotmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0001 - 6212 - 7339 cyclesamyiu@hotmail.com text Zootaxa 2024 2024-10-22 5526 1 1 69 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5526.1.1 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.5526.1.1 1175-5334 14021526 987FAD00-32A7-4E38-AFAD-6EAC8D808FB2 Salmacis bicolor L. Agassiz in L. Agassiz & Desor 1846 FIGURE 12A Comments This species was identified by its distinctive red banded spines ( Fig. 12A ) which characterize this species ( Liao & Clark 1995 ). There is individual variation in spine color, as described by Schultz (2015) for S. bicolor specimens that demonstrated spines banded in red, but with yellowish to violet and green. Although widely recorded from throughout Asia , this is the first occurrence of Salmacis bicolor in Hong Kong . This individual was present on a rocky substrate bottom at Ninepin East Island in 17 m depth , a site displaying moderate current. It is otherwise widely distributed in the central Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Liao & Clark (1995) reported it was very common in southern China and ranged from Vietnam to southern Japan , living from the littoral zone to 120 m . Numerous symbionts, including polychaetes, shrimps and ophiuroids were reported in association with Salamis bicolor from Vietnam ( Britayev et al . 2013 ). Occurrence/Distribution Hong Kong , 17 m . Outside Hong Kong , the Philippines , Indonesia , and South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, including East Africa from Red Sea to Durban over Mauritius and Ceylon , 0–120m