Lissothuria braziliensis

Lissothuria braziliensis (Théel, 1886)

(Figure 15)

Psolus braziliensis Théel, 1886: 15, fig. 7.

Thyonepsolus braziliensis: Deichmann 1930: 192, pl. XXI, figs 1–6; Deichmann 1954: 40; Clark 1933: 117.

Lissothuria braziliensis: Pawson 1967: 8–10, figs 2a–e; Tommasi 1969: 8–9, fig. 7; Miranda et al. 2015: 113, fig. 2.

Material examined. Paraíba State, Brazil: 2 spec., Cabo Branco Beach (UFPB.ECH-1292); 1 spec., Seixas Beach (UFPB.ECH-2274).

Type locality. Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil (Thel 1886).

Description. Specimen UFPB.ECH-1292. Elongated body, ventrally flattened, forming a sole, test well calcified, 18 mm long, with 5 mm in breadth in mid-body (Fig. 15A). Skin covered by imbricate scales, 10 scales between oral and anal openings. Marginal scales smaller. Scales perforated for passage of tube feet. Color pink in life, whitish in alcohol. Mouth antero-dorsal, surrounded by 12 pointed scales. Anus postero-dorsal, surrounded by scales and 10 small pointed plates. Five anal teeth present (Fig. 15C). Tentacles 10, bushy, short, the two most ventral ones smaller (Fig. 15D). Introvert short, well delimited. Tube feet from dorsal side small, covering the whole surface uniformly. Sole elongated, with tube feet distributed into three sets of double rows in each ambulacra. Calcareous ring simple, short, without posterior processes. Radial and interradial plates similar in size. Body wall ossicles from dorsal side consist of large plates or scales (700 µm long), with small holes and more than one network (Fig. 15B). Numerous high tables hourglass-shaped (100 µm long) (Fig. 15F), small four-pillared tables (Fig. 15G) and small perforated plates (200 µm long). Ventral side or sole ossicles include plates with irregular dentate margins (180 µm long) (Fig. 15E). Ventral tube feet with several elongated and curved supporting rods (Fig. 15H), irregular smooth buttons with five central holes (Fig. 15I), and endplate (115 µm long). Tentacles include rosettes (40 µm long), large flattened plates, small plates with irregular holes and rods.

Geographical distribution. Antilles to Brazil (Tommasi 1969). In Brazil from Paraíba to Bahia along the Northeast coast (Tommasi 1969, present study). The species can be found down to 5 m deep (Laguarda-Figueras et al. 2001). Here, Lissothuria braziliensis was found from the intertidal zone to 1.5 m deep.\

Remarks. Of the three species of Lissothuria known from the West Atlantic Ocean, L. braziliensis and Lissothuria antillensis Pawson, 1967, are close in having rosettes in tentacles, but differ due to the lack of shallow cups in the sole of L. antillensis (Pawson 1967).

Ecological note. The specimens UFPB.ECH-1292 of L. braziliensis were found associated with algae and the specimen UFPB.ECH-2274 was found inside rhodolith rocks.