Asteroid fauna of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge: additional records

Abstract

New data on deep-sea starfish from the North Atlantic are presented, based on samples obtained in the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone area on three cruises of the RRS James Cook (years 2007, 2009 and 2010) in the framework of the ECOMAR project. Asteroids were collected at 19 stations at depths between 2272 and 2750 m. The collection includes 30 species, 11 of them recorded for the first time on the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Two new species of Hymenaster are described. For some species geographical and depth ranges were extended. An annotated checklist of asteroids collected on the ECOMAR cruises is provided.