Callopatiria Verrill 1913

Callopatiria Verrill

Figures 2e, 10a–d

Callopatiria Verrill, 1913: 480.—A.M. Clark, 1983: 367–372.— Clark and Downey, 1992: 190–191.—A.M. Clark, 1993: 217.

Diagnosis. Rays 5, discrete, narrow basally, long rayed stellate; flat actinally, high convex abactinally, sides of rays close t o perpendicular above angular margin; abactinal plate arrangement irregular on upper rays, plates crescentiform; plates closely covered by numerous glassy spinelets, digitiform to sacciform on primary plates, thin conical pointed on secondary plates; lacking pedicellariae; papular spaces large, numerous papulae and secondary plates; inferomarginal series of plates project only slightly; actinal plates in oblique series; actinal spines digitiform, numerous per plate; interior resinous body lining; series of irregular superambulacral plates; superactinal plates fill interradial angular margin.

Type species. Patiria bellula Sladen, 1889 (original designation) (junior synonym of Patiria granifera Gray, 1847, by A.M. Clark, 1956).

Other species. C. formosa (Mortensen, 1933).

Material examined. C. granifera. South Africa, Western Cape Province, NMV F98049 (1).

Description with species variations. Rays 5, interradial margin deeply incurved, rounded proximally, rays discrete, narrow base tapering to rounded end, form long-rayed stellate; body flat actinally, wider actinally than breadth of upper ray, high convex abactinally, sides of rays close to perpendicular above angular margin; size medium, up to R = 60 mm (granifera); lacking pedicellariae; not fissiparous.

Abactinal surface coarse, irregularly arranged crescentiform plates only (granifera); sometimes also enlarged rounded plates distally, mostly bare of spinelets (formosa); lacking carinal series of plates; papulate areas extensive; papular spaces large, not clearly bordered, up to about 10 large to small secondary plates and up to about 10 papulae per space; abactinal plates irregularly notched for papulae, each plate with low rounded elevation, some subpaxilliform, closely covered with up to about 60 spinelets, glassy, digitiform to sacciform on primary plates, thin conical pointed on secondary plates; bare plate surface with large glassy convexities; sometimes longitudinal series of plates and papulae evident on sides of rays; series of large subequal superomarginal and inferomarginal plates, covered closely with digitiform spinelets, not in marginal tufts; inferomarginals projecting only slightly at almost right-angular margin.

Actinal plates in oblique series.

Actinal spines per plate: oral 6; suboral 5–6; furrow 4 proximally; subambulacral 3–4; actinal interradial up to 10 (fans proximally, clusters distally); adradial actinal plates with complete series of spines; actinal plates with spine-bearing low domes; interradial spines digitiform.

Superambulacral plates present as irregular series, variable size, sometimes paired or absent, contiguous with superactinals for most of ray; marginal angle filled with numerous superactinal plates; abactinal and actinal plates near margin lacking interior projections, meet at angle; superambulacral and superactinal plates embedded in resinous interior lining.

Distribution. Southern Africa; 0– 82 m.

Remarks. Molecular data are not available for either species of Callopatiria, and this review is based on a morphological examination of a specimen of C. granifer a and the description of C. formosa by Clark and Downey (1992). Patiria bellula Sladen, 1889 was designated by Verrill (1913) as type species of his new genus but it was subsequently assigned to Parasterina by H.L. Clark (1923) and Mortensen (1933). However, Parasterina is a junior synonym of Nepanthia. Patiria granifera Gray, 1847 was reassigned to Asterina by Perrier (1875), H.L. Clark (1923) and Mortensen (1933). Mortensen (1933) thought it highly probable that P. bellula and P. granifera were synonyms and A.M. Clark (1956) was more confident. Fisher (1940, 1941) rejected Callopatiria as a junior synonym of Patiria but it was restored to generic status by A.M. Clark (1983), who noted similarities between Callopatiria and Nepanthia.

Callopatiria, Nepanthia, Pseudonepanthia and Pseudopatiria are unusual asterinid genera in having discrete narrow rays which are rounded abactinally. They also have irregularly arranged abactinal plates on the upper rays and narrowly or not projecting inferomarginal plates, characters shared with some other genera. Callopatiria is separated diagnostically by having rays that are not subcylindrical, with a flat actinal surface significantly wider at mid-ray than upper ray breadth, and by a marginal angle supported internally by many superactinal plates.