Abstract
Ophioderma peruana sp. n. is a new species of Ophiodermatidae, extending the distribution of the genus Ophioderma to Lobos de Afuera Island, Peru, easily distinguishable from its congeners by its peculiarly fragmented dorsal arm plates. Dense granules, rounded or polygonal cover the disc, the radial shields may be naked or completely covered by granules. A good character for recognizing this species in the field is the dorsal side of the disc which is brown with disc granules lighter cream and brown, the arms are mottled with whitish spots and the ventral part of the disc on the interradial part is brown and the radial part bright yellow.
Highlights
Species of Ophioderma have a distinctive shape and color and are distributed across the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and off the American Pacific coast
The characters used to separate the species are the shape of the disc granules, the disc size, arm length, shape and degree of fragmentation of dorsal arm plates, number of arm spines and color (Stöhr et al 2009)
At Lobos de Afuera Islands, Lambayeque, Peru (06°55'5"S, 80°42'5"W) a total of 39 echinoderm species have been reported, including six ophiuroids (Ophiactis mirabilis, Ophiothrix spiculata, Ophiocoma aethiops, Ophioderma panamensis and Ophionereis annulata), one of which is described in this paper as a new species of Ophioderma (Hooker et al 2005)
Summary
Species of Ophioderma have a distinctive shape and color and are distributed across the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and off the American Pacific coast. Clark (1976) and Melville (1980), formally separating the previously controversial genus Ophiura from Ophioderma. Bathymetric distribution of the genus extends from shallow water to 50 m and is restricted to tropical and temperate seas. At Lobos de Afuera Islands, Lambayeque, Peru (06°55'5"S, 80°42'5"W) a total of 39 echinoderm species have been reported, including six ophiuroids (Ophiactis mirabilis, Ophiothrix spiculata, Ophiocoma aethiops, Ophioderma panamensis and Ophionereis annulata), one of which is described in this paper as a new species of Ophioderma (Hooker et al 2005). Two species belonging to the genus Ophioderma have been reported for Peruvian waters: O. panamensis Lütken, 1859 and O. teres (Lyman, 1860).
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