Odontohenricia ahearnae Clark & Jewett, 2010, sp. nov.

Odontohenricia ahearnae sp. nov.

Figures 77–82

Type locality: Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Islands of Four Mountains, Carlisle Island, east side (52º 53.937 N, 169º 59.730 W), 7 m. (AKALE 06-0011).

Type material: Holotype, USNM 1125114 (leg. R.N. Clark, 15 July, 2006; scuba 7 m); Paratype, LACM 2006-141.001 (from type locality); Paratype, LACM 1997-217.001 Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Rat Islands, E of Kiska Island (51º 46.55 N, 178º 10.81 E; NMFS 23-199901-133) (leg. R.N. Clark, 14 July, 1997; trawled R/V Dominator, 108 m); Paratype, CASIZ 180534 Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Rat Islands, E of Kiska Island (51º 46.55 N, 178º 10.81 E; NMFS 23-199901-133) (leg. R.N. Clark, 14 July, 1997; trawled R/V Dominator, 108 m); 1 Paratype, UAM 8131 Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Andreanof Islands, SE of Amlia Island (Seguam Pass) (51º 55.72 N, 172º 53.58 E) (leg. R.N. Clark, 5 June, 1997; trawled R/V Dominator, 214 m).

Diagnosis: Large slender to moderately inflated, R to 13 cm; disc relatively small, rays moderately long, tapering to slender tips. Abactinal plates forming a relatively tight reticulation; marginal plates widely separated at base of rays; oral plates with large, recurved, hyaline apical tooth, with six to eight marginal teeth on each side; color light orange with large red-orange or purple blotch on center of disc.

Description: Large slender to moderately inflated stars, R to 13 cm (Holotype R = 12.1), r to 2 cm, R:r 6.5:1 (Figs. 77 & 78); disc small, rays long, slender, often somewhat inflated at base, tapering to slender tips. Abactinal plates (Fig. 79) small, round to oblong, up to three times as long as wide, crowned with 25–50+ short (to 0.2 mm), thorn-tipped spinelets; madreporite small, spinose, located equidistant between anus and disc margin. Marginal widely separated at base of rays; superomarginals approximately two or three times as large as aboral plates, crescent-shaped, set in a distinct, oblique row; intermarginal plates in two series, plates of the first very small (about 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the superomarginals), inconsistant series, extending a little past the base of the rays and often alternating with the second series, the second series of plates much larger, about 2/3 as large as the superomarginals and extending about 70 to 80% of R; inferomarginals somewhat larger than superomarginals; actinal intermediate plates arrayed in three series, plates of the first series, about as large as inferomarginals (and often difficult to distinguish from the adambulacrals), extending about 70– 80% of R, second and third series much smaller, and extending just past the base of the rays. Adambulacrals (Fig. 80) with single spine deep in furrow, three to four large, compressed, spatulate actinal spines, the largest one at the furrow edge, followed by two or three similar, but slightly smaller spines, behind which are series of 12–16 much smaller, grading, pointed spinelets. Oral plates (Fig. 81) rather small, with a very large, robust, recurved, hyaline-tipped spine or tooth at the apex of the paired plates, six to eight much smaller marginal spines, and six to eight similar, suboral spines in one or two series or in a group, two robust, blunt spines deep in the furrow, near the base of the plate. Color in life (Fig. 82), aborally, yellow, pale pinkish or tan, with a large orange, red or purplish blotch on the disc.

Distribution: Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Islands of the Four Mountains, Carlisle Island (52º 53.937 N, 169º 59.730 W) to Rat Islands, E of Kiska Island (51º 46.55 N, 178º 10.81 E), at depths of 7– 442 m. Odontohenricia ahearnae appears to be endemic to the Aleutian province.

Habitat: Sponge beds on bedrock or boulder/cobble bottoms with water temperatures of 4.3–5ºC. Uncommon in shallow kelp beds (<20 m).

Etymology: It is with great pleasure that we name this species after the late Cynthia Ahearn, former echinoderm collections manager at the U. S. National Museum for her great enthusiasm and many contributions to the study of echinoderms.

Remarks: Odontohenricia ahearnae is a common shelf species, and is frequently taken in trawls.