Published December 31, 2012 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Amphipholis squamata Delle Chiaje 1828

Description

Amphipholis squamata (Delle Chiaje, 1828)

Fig. 2 G, H

West African records. Koehler 1914: 194; A. M. Clark 1955: 38; Longhurst 1958: 100; Madsen 1970: 202; Alva & Vadon 1989: 834.

Material examined. St. 4B: grab sampling, 13°57.672´S, 12°21.870´E; 1 specimen, 2 mm. St. BE13: dredge sampling, 15°17.562´S, 12°00.030´E; 1 specimen, 3.5 mm. St. BE17: grab and dredge sampling, 17°18.946´S, 11°43.389´E; 36 specimens, 1–4 mm. St. BE30: grab and dredge sampling, 17°23.415´S, 11°43.432´E; 31 specimens, 1–4 mm. St. BE02: grab and dredge sampling, 18°11.442´S, 11°50.478´E; 4 specimens, 1.5–3 mm. St. BE01: grab sampling, 18°23.118´S, 11°55.290´E; 2 specimens, 1.8 mm. Depth: 26– 84 m.

Diagnosis. The two infradental papillae on each jaw angle are somewhat rounded. The oral papillae are arranged in a continuous series with the distal one being at least twice as broad as the other ones. The disc is smooth and typically carries a rosette of primary plates. The oral shields are rhombic. There are two scales at each tentacle pore.

Distribution. Amphipholis squamata, as currently delimited, is widespread in temperate and tropical seas. It occurs along the entire West African coast, moreover in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic from Iceland to South Africa. During our cruises it was found only south of 13°S. It occurs from the littoral zone down to 1200 m. Amphipholis squamata is most likely a species complex (Boissin et al. 2008) and so the actual distribution of each putative cryptic species may be more limited.

Notes

Published as part of Glück, Franziska U., Stöhr, Sabine, Bochert, Ralf & Zettler, Michael L., 2012, Brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from the continental shelf off Angola and Namibia, pp. 1-20 in Zootaxa 3475 on page 7, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.282230

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

References

  • Delle Chiaje, S. (1828) Memorie sulla storia e notomia degli animali senza vertebre del regno di Napoli. Stamperia della societa tipografica, Naples, 3, 1 - 232.
  • Koehler, R. (1914) Echinoderma I. Asteroidea, Ophiuroidea et Echinoidea. In: Michaelsen, W. (Ed), Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Meeresfauna Westafrikas. Friederichsen & Co., Hamburg, 1 (2), 127 - 303, pls 4 - 15.
  • Clark, A. M. (1955) Echinodermata of the Gold Coast. Journal of the West African Science Association, 1, 16 - 56.
  • Longhurst, A. R. (1958) An ecological survey of the West African marine benthos. Fishery Publications Colonial Office London, 11, 1 - 102.
  • Madsen, F. J. (1970) West African Ophiuroids. Atlantidae Report, 11, 151 - 243.
  • Alva, V. & Vadon, C. (1989) Ophiuroids from the western coast of Africa (Namibia and Guinea - Bissau). Scientia Marina, 53 (4), 827 - 845.
  • Boissin, E., Feral, J. - P. & Chenuil, A. (2008) Defining reproductively isolated units in a cryptic and syntopic species complex using mitochondrial and nuclear markers: the brooding brittle star, Amphipholis squamata (Ophiuroidea). Molecular Ecology, 17, 1732 - 1744.