Fig. 4
Ophiocnida sexradia Duncan, 1887: 92, pl. 8, figs 10, 11.
Ophiocomella sexradia — Devaney 1970: 29–31; O’Hara et al. 2019: 68.
Material examined: Persian Gulf, Iran, Qeshm Island, intertidal, hand collected, February 2019, collector Yaser Fatemi, 1 spm, 3.9 mm dd [SMNH-178932].
Habitat: Intertidal hard bottom (present study) (Fig. 2F).
Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman: Qeshm Island (10), new record (present study).
Indian Ocean: West Indian Ocean and Red Sea (Clark & Rowe 1971), Mozambique (Clark & Courtman-Stock 1976), Madagascar (Cherbonnier & Guille 1978), Seychelles (Clark 1984), Gulf of Mannar (James 1988), Mascarene Isl. (Boissin et al. 2016), South Africa (Olbers et al. 2019).
Remarks: This species shares with Ophiactis savignyi the hexamerous body symmetry and banded color pattern. It can be distinguished by the numerous conical dorsal disc granules, three oral papillae and a cluster of tooth papillae. O’Hara et al. (2019) suggested that all hexamerous species of Ophiocomella (O. ophiactoides (H. L. Clark, 1900), O. schmitti A. H. Clark, 1939, O. sexradia) may form an asexually reproducing complex with wide distribution, rather than separate species. The name O. sexradia has priority.