A descriptive monograph of Japanese asteroidea

New asterinid seastars from the western Pacific Ocean (Echinodermata: Asteroidea)

“…nov. Other Aquilonastra species with prominent pedicellariae with differentiated valves (teeth) are distinguished by: Aquilonastra anomala (H.L. Clark, 1921) is fissiparous with multiple madreporites; Aquilonastra batheri (Goto, 1914) has tufts of splayed abactinal spinelets, and up to 12 actinal inter-radial spines; Aquilonastra corallicola (Marsh, 1977) is fissiparous and has two different forms of spinelets on the paxilliform upper ray plates; Aquilonastra coronata (Martens, 1866) has irregularly distributed high paxilliform abactinal plates with two different forms of spinelets; Aquilonastra iranica (Mortensen, 1940) Description. Asterinid seastar, five sub-equal rays nearly digitiform, rays wide basally, narrowly rounded to pointed distally, R = 25 mm, r = 10 mm, rays merge at bases, interradial junction of rays deeply in-curved, central rays elevated and rounded abactinally, weakly evident low sloping distal abactinal margin, no distinct apron; rays flat actinally, margin acute.…”

“…There are additional characters that distinguish Aquilonastra korora sp. nov. from other Aquilonastra species that have distinctive pedicellariae: Aquilonastra anomala (Clark, 1921) and Aquilonastra corallicola (Marsh, 1977) have up to 8 rays and are fissiparous with multiple madreporites; Aquilonastra batheri (Goto, 1914) has tufts of splayed abactinal spinelets and up to 12 actinal inter-radial spines; Aquilonastra coronata (Martens, 1866) has irregularly distributed high paxilliform abactinal plates with two different forms of spinelets; Aquilonastra iranica (Mortensen, 1940) has up to 5 doubly papulate proximal carinal plates and the spinelets on proximal abactinal plates are in clusters; Aquilonastra rowleyi O'Loughlin and Rowe, 2006 has a disc that is delineated by a dense band of spinelets on wide radial plates, each plate with about 100 long thin pencil-like glassy spinelets; Aquilonastra shirleyae O'Loughlin, 2009 has spinelets in splayed clusters and up to 10 actinal inter-radial spines per plate; Aquilonastra watersi O'Loughlin and Rowe, 2006 has pedicellariae with differentiated valves but has doubly papulate proximal carinal plates and abactinal spinelets in clusters. All of these species have superambulacral plates.…”

A systematic revision of the asterinid genus Aquilonastra O'Loughlin, 2004 (Echinodermata: Asteroidea)

“…-Sladen, 1889: 393 (two Challenger specimens from Kobé, Japan, non Asterina penicillaris (Lamarck, 1816), according to Goto (1914); Asterina penicillaris of uncertain identity and validity, according to A.M. Clark (1993)). …”

“…3D, F.-Waters et al, 2004 Diagnosis. Non-fi ssiparous Aquilonastra species; rays 5, broad basally, narrowly rounded distally; up to R = 34 mm, r = 14 mm (Goto, 1914); abactinal proximal interradial pedicellariae, pairs of tooth-like differentiated valves; gonopores abactinal; direct development into brachiolaria stage (Hayashi, 1973). (Gray), Zanzibar, spinelets (NHM 2004.2831; b, A. byrneae sp.…”

A Newly Recorded Sea Star (Asteroidea: Valvatida) from Jejudo Island, Korea

“…Among them, Anseropoda petaloides (Goto, 1914) which belongs to the family Asterinidae of the order Valvatida turned out to be a new record from Korea. Morphological characters of this species collected at 130 m deep are redescribed with photographs.…”