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- Title
Brittle stars from a submarine cave of Christmas Island, northwestern Australia, with description of a new bioluminescent species Ophiopsila xmasilluminans (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) and notes on its behaviour.
- Authors
Masanori Okanishi; Yuichi Oba; Yoshihisa Fujita
- Abstract
Three species of ophiuroids are reported from a shallow water submarine cave on Christmas Island in northwestern Australia, including a new bioluminescent species, Ophiopsila xmasilluminans, which is described herein on the basis of 15 specimens. This new species occurs on sandy bottoms in the cave with disc buried and arms extended above the substratum. This species possesses a disc entirely covered by thick skin with small and delicate embedded scales and granules; 3 oral papillae, basically flat, fan-shaped but sometimes innermost or middle papilla spiniform; diamond shaped oral shield with rounded edges, as long as wide; long and flat arm spine; inner tentacle scale narrow, flat and long, arms approximately 18 times the disc diameter. We describe bioluminescence and burying behaviour, which suggest adaptation to submarine cave environments. Also reported herein is a rarely encountered species, Ophiomora elegans, based on a single specimen. Ophiomora elegans was previously known only from southern Mozambique, the east coast of Africa and the Ryukyu Islands. We also include a new record of Ophioconis claviculata, which was previously known only from the Ryukyu Islands.
- Subjects
RYUKYU Islands; CAVES; ECHINODERMATA; CHRISTMAS; WATER depth; ISLANDS; SPELEOTHEMS; CAENORHABDITIS
- Publication
Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 2019, Vol 67, p421
- ISSN
0217-2445
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.26107/RBZ-2019-0034