New records of brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from the Lakshadweep atolls, northern Indian Ocean, with notes on Indophioderma ganapatii Sastry, Marimuthu amp; Rajan, 2019.

Abstract

The paper presents three new records of brittle stars for Indian waters, collected from the Lakshadweep atolls (northern Indian Ocean)-Ophiarachnella septemspinosa (Müller Troschel, 1842), Ophiocoma cynthiae Benavides-Serrato O'Hara, 2008 Ophiomoeris obstricta (Lyman, 1878). Further, this paper also discusses the validity of two recently described taxa from this archipelago, the genus Indophioderma with the species Indophioderma ganapatii Sastry, Marimuthu Rajan, 2019. A checklist of brittle stars reported so far from the Lakshadweep Islands is provided, which includes 40 valid species-32 from shallow (reef) areas and 8 deep-sea (>200m) species.