Published April 20, 2021 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Amphiophiura bullata

  • 1. Swedish Museum of Natural History, Dept. of Zoology, Box 50007, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 2. Museums Victoria, Sciences, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.

Description

Amphiophiura bullata (Thomson, 1877)

Ophioglypha bullata Thomson, 1877: 399

Amphiophiura bullata — Matsumoto 1915: 77

Amphiophiura bullata bullata — Paterson, 1985: 131

Material examined

EAST ATLANTIC OCEAN • 3 specimens; en route from Monrovia to Takoradi; 00°42’N, 00559’W; 5160 m; 18 Nov 1950; Galathea II stn. 30; clay; NHMD-867153.

INDIAN OCEAN • 1 specimen; between Cape Town and Durban; 35°00’S, 027°22’E; 4330–4390 m; 21 Jan. 1951; Galathea II stn. 175; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-867164 • 19 specimens; off Port Elizabeth; 23°12’S, 027°35’E; 4350 m; 21 Jan. 1951; Galathea II stn. 176; NHMD-867160 • 15 specimens; between Cape Town and Durban; 35°07’S; 030°35’E; 4470 m; 23 Jan. 1951; Galathea II stn. 178; clay; NHMD-867185 • 2 specimens; between Cape Town and Durban; 34°44’S, 034°16’E; 3800 m; 24 Jan. 1951; Galathea II stn. 179; NHMD-867200 • 4 specimens; 32°33’S, 032°01’E; 3620 m; 31 Jan. 1951; Galathea II stn. 186; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-867203 • 7 specimens; off Durban; 29°42’S, 031°19’E; 2640–2760 m; 03 Mar. 1951; Galathea II stn. 190; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-867231 • 112 specimens; off Durban; 32°00’S, 032°41’E; 3430–3530 m; 05 Feb 1951; Galathea II stn. 192; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-867145 • 22 specimens; off Durban; 32°34’S, 031°52’E; 3680 m; 06 Feb. 1951; Galathea II stn. 193; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-867141 • 60 specimens; off Durban; 34°09’S, 030°45’E; 4360 m; 07 Feb 1951; Galathea II stn. 194; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-867134 • 2 specimens; off Durban; 30°32’S, 034°27’E; 2690–2700; 15 Feb. 1951; Galathea II stn. 198; NHMD-867099 • 3 specimens; Mozambique Channel, N of Madagascar, S of Mayotte; 14°20’S, 045°09’E; 3390–3520 m; 17 Feb. 1951; Galathea II stn. 217; Clay, Globigerina ooze; NHMD-867100. • 48 specimens; between Madagascar and Mombasa; 08°52’S, 049°25’E; 4480–5020 m; 07 Mar. 1951; Galathea II stn. 231; NHMD-867143 • 8 specimens; between Madagascar and Mombasa; 07°24’S, 048°24’E; 4730 m; 09 Mar. 1951; Galathea II stn. 233; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-867140 • 53 specimens; Madagascar to Mombasa; 05°25’S, 047°09’E; 4800–4820 m; 10 Mar. 1951; Galathea II stn. 234; Globigerina ooze; NHMD- 867287 • 100 specimens; between Madagascar and Mombasa; 04°47’S, 046°19’E; 4810 m; 11 Mar. 1951; Galathea II stn. 235; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-305714, NHMD-867258 • 100 specimens; off Kenya; 03°23’S, 044°04’E; 3960–3980 m; Galathea II stn. 238; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-305688, NHMD-867094 • 5 specimens; Maldives to Ceylon; 01°56’N, 077°05’E; 4350 m; 09 Apr. 1951; Galathea II stn. 280; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-867144 • 150 specimens; Sri Lanka; 03°38’N, 078°15’E; 3310 m; 10 Apr. 1951; Galathea II stn. 281; Globigerina ooze; NHMD-867158 • 24 specimens; off Sri Lanka; 05°32’N, 078°41’E; 4040 m; 11 Apr. 1951; Galathea II stn. 282; Blackish mud; NHMD-867172 • 4 specimens; Bay of Bengal; 17°10’N, 084°30’E; 2820 m; 24 Apr. 1951; Galathea II stn. 299; Mud; NHMD-868679 • 6 specimens; Sunda Trench; 09°49’S, 114°13’E; 3810–3840 m; 11 Sep. 1951; Galathea II stn. 474; NHMD-868364.

KERMADEC TRENCH • 1 specimen; 36°31’S, 178°38’E; depth 4410 m; 24 Feb. 1952; Galathea II stn. 663; brown sandy clay with pumice; NHMD-868419 • 20 specimens; 36°34’S, 178°57’W; 4540 m; 25 Feb. 1952; Galathea II stn. 664; brown sandy clay with pumice; NHMD-868443.

TASMAN SEA • 3 specimens; 31°27’S, 153°33’E; 4090–4530 m; 12 Nov. 1951; Galathea II stn. 550; very stiff clay; NHMD-868416 • 1 specimen; 39°45’S, 138°42’E; 4670 m; 18 Dec. 1951; Galathea II stn. 574; NHMD- 868417.

Remarks

The A. bullata species complex currently includes four accepted subspecies (A. bullata bullata, A. bullata convexa (Lyman, 1878), A. bullata vitjazi Litvinova, 1971, A. bullata pacifica Litvinova, 1971), as proposed by Paterson (1985). The main morphological difference between the first three subspecies is in the dorsal disc plating, with A. bullata convexa having mostly large primary plates and radial shields with few or no small scales, A. bullata bullata having some scales and A. bullata vitjazi having many scales and only slightly larger primary plates. Their variability in disc plating overlaps though, as previous authors have remarked (Paterson 1985). Christodoulou et al. (2019) included nine specimens of Amphiophiura bullata from around the world with the three different disc morphologies defined by Paterson (A. convexa, A. bullata and A. vitjazi) and their analysis suggested at least two clades, A. bullata and A. convexa, which correlate with different geographic areas. Most of the Galathea specimens of A. bullata are morphologically similar to A. bullata convexa, e.g., all Indian Ocean samples (Fig. 3A, B), except from off Durban, but there is geographic overlap with specimens that are more similar to A. bullata bullata (Table 2), which leads us to conclude that morphology is plastic and of low taxonomic value in this species complex. We propose to reserve the name A. bullata for Atlantic, Indian and Southern Ocean populations and A. convexa for the North Pacific clade, based on the respective type localities and the genetic clades, and raised to species level. We consider A. bullata pacifica conspecific with A. convexa. The taxonomic status of A. bullata vitjazi remains to be resolved.

Notes

Published as part of Stöhr, Sabine & O'Hara, Timothy D., 2021, Deep-sea Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) from the Danish Galathea II Expedition 1950 - 52, with taxonomic revisions, pp. 505-529 in Zootaxa 4963 (3) on pages 516-518, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4963.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/4704429

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References

  • Thomson, C. W. (1877) The voyage of the " Challenger. " The Atlantic; a preliminary account of the general results of the exploring voyage of H. M. S. " Challenger " during the year 1873 and the early part of the year 1876,. Harper & Brothers, New York, 448 pp. Available from: https: // www. biodiversitylibrary. org / bibliography / 79255 (accessed 12 Jan, 2021) https: // doi. org / 10.1038 / 015254 b 0
  • Matsumoto, H. (1915) A new classification of the Ophiuroidea: with descriptions of new genera and species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 67, 43 - 92.
  • Paterson, G. L. J. (1985) The deep-sea Ophiuroidea of the North Atlantic Ocean. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology Series, 49, 1 - 162.
  • Lyman, T. (1878) Ophiuridae and Astrophytidae of the " Challenger " expedition. Part I. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, 5, 65 - 168.
  • Christodoulou, M., O'Hara, T. D., Hugall, A. F. & Arbizu, P. M. (2019) Dark Ophiuroid Biodiversity in a Prospective Abyssal Mine Field. Current Biology, 29, 3909 - 3912. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. cub. 2019.09.012