A new species of Astropecten (Echinodermata: Asteroidea: Paxillosida: Astropectinidae) and a comparison of the Astropecten species from the Gulf of Mexico and the East Florida Shelf.

A new species of Astropecten is described, supported by morphological and molecular evidence, from the Gulf of Mexico and the East Florida Shelf with most specimens from 30-60 m in depth. The new species, A. mcedwardi n. sp., is small, with a maximum major radius 30 mm. Specimens of A. mcedwardi n. sp. have been found in five museums as an undescribed species or misidentified under several names. The spination of the oral surface most closely resembles that of Astropecten antillensis Lütken, 1859 from the Caribbean, but the body form is similar to that of Astropecten duplicatus Gray, 1840, which is found in the same geographic range. Examination of specimens from different collections indicates that the new species may overlap in distribution with A. antillensis along the East Florida Shelf.  Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of two mitochondrial genes reveal that A. mcedwardi is closely related to A. antillensis but that its phylogenetic lineage is distinct from that of A. antillensis.

Discovery of Adults Linked to Cloning Oceanic Starfish Larvae (Oreaster, Asteroidea: Echinodermata).

Two juvenile specimens of a new species of Oreaster were collected at Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes and Triángulos Oeste in the southern Gulf of Mexico. DNA of mitochondrial loci identifies them as members of the same clade as cloning larvae of Oreaster found abundantly in waters of the Florida Current-Gulf Stream system, and distinct from Oreaster clavatus and Oreaster reticulatus, the two known Oreasteridae species in the North Atlantic. Larvae from the new species of Oreaster persist as clones but also metamorphose and settle to the benthos with typical asteroid morphology.

Morphological comparison of Astropecten cingulatus and a new species of Astropecten (Paxillosida, Astropectinidae) from the Gulf of Mexico.

Astropecten cingulatus is a conspicuous species, which displays a large superomarginal plate series on the abactinal surface. Herein we describe a new species from off the Texas coast that shows the superficial appearance of A. cingulatus, including these large superomarginal plates, but with armature differing from that of typological A. cingulatus. This species shows the actinal surface of the inferomarginal plates without the squamules present on A. cingulatus. In addition, the adambulacral plates possessed but a single central large spine surrounded by a circle of spines rather than spine rows. The abactinal paxillar region was also very narrow. Statistical analysis of these and other morphological characters showed the specimens differed significantly from those of A. cingulatus. The regression of the slope of R:SM# vs. R was significant but the intercept was not. Therefore the two species are indistinguishable at small sizes based on R:SM. Compared to known Atlantic Astropecten spp. these observed characters warrant the description of a new species, Astropecten karankawai, for the specimens from off the coasts of Texas and Mexico.

Validation of Astropecten jarli Madsen, 1950 and implications for A. cingulatus Sladen, 1883 (Paxillosida: Astropectinidae).

Astropecten is a major paxillosid genus with a widely occurring presence in tropical and temperate seas. Astropecten jarli from off the west coast of Africa, in the Eastern Atlantic Region, was placed in synonymy with Astropecten cingulatus, a widespread species from the Western Atlantic Region, producing the only amphi-Atlantic Astropecten species. Examination of the holotypes of both species and other specimens of A. cingulatus and A. jarli revealed that A. jarli has a greater major radius:minor radius than A. cingulatus at all sizes, a unique adambulacral spine configuration, and different spination on the inferomarginal plates. ANCOVA indicates A. cingulatus and A. jarli have similar major radius:number of superomarginal plates at small sizes but are distinguishable by the number of superomarginal plates in large individuals. The ratio of the width of the paxillar area:width of the superomarginal plates is greater in A. jarli. Some specimens identified as A. cingulatus from the Eastern Atlantic Region do not fit the description of either A. cingulatus or A. jarli. We conclude that A. jarli is morphologically distinct from A. cingulatus and should be recognized as a valid species. Astropecten cingulatus does not have an amphi-Atlantic distribution and is limited to the Western Atlantic Region.