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29 April 2021 Description of a New Brooding Species of Ophiodelos (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from Japan
Masanori Okanishi, Hisanori Kohtsuka
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Abstract

A new species of brittle star, Ophiodelos okayoshitakai, is described from two specimens collected in Sagami Bay, central-eastern Japan. Photographic examination of the holotype specimen of the sole other congener, Ophiodelos insignis , indicates that Ophiodelos okayoshitakai sp. nov. is distinguished from O. insignis by i) the disc stumps covering on the dorsal side of the disc, ii) the dorsal and ventral arm plates being separated from each other on the proximal arm regions, iii) the dorsal arm plate being smooth, iv) the arm spines at proximal portion of the arm being six in number and smooth in shape, and v) the number and shape of the tentacle scales at proximal portion of the arm being up to two and spine-shaped adradially and oval abradially. Detailed morphological observations of this new species suggest the inclusion of Ophiodelos, whose familial affiliation remains unclear, in the suborder Ophiacanthina. More than 10 juveniles of various sizes were found in the disc of Ophiodelos okayoshitakai sp. nov., indicating a brooding reproduction. This is the first report of the genus Ophiodelos from Japanese waters. We also provided a nucleotide sequence for part of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene in O. okayoshitakai sp. nov. for future studies of DNA barcoding and phylogeny.

© 2021 Zoological Society of Japan
Masanori Okanishi and Hisanori Kohtsuka "Description of a New Brooding Species of Ophiodelos (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from Japan," Zoological Science 38(4), 352-358, (29 April 2021). https://doi.org/10.2108/zs200101
Received: 24 June 2020; Accepted: 20 February 2021; Published: 29 April 2021
KEYWORDS
brittle star
COI
DNA barcoding
lateral arm plate
Ophiacanthina
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