Open AccessBrittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from La Réunion and the systematic position of Ophiocanops Koehler, 1922
Author(s) -
STÖHR SABINE,
CONAND CHANTAL,
BOISSIN EMILIE
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
zoological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.148
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1096-3642
pISSN - 0024-4082
DOI - 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00401.x
Subject(s) - biology , autapomorphy , fauna , genus , taxon , ecology , paleozoic , zoology , paleontology , phylogenetics , biochemistry , gene
The ophiuroid fauna of La Réunion, Indian Ocean, is still incompletely known. We report 13 different species from coral reefs, including five new records and a probably undescribed species of Amphioplus , which increases the number of ophiuroids known from La Réunion to 25. The most important find consists of three individuals of a previously unknown representative of the genus Ophiocanops . Originally placed in Ophiomyxidae, its systematic position has long been debated, with some authors advocating a placement with the otherwise extinct Palaeozoic Oegophiurida, based on the absence of several skeletal characters. The new species, O. multispina sp. nov. , shows intermediate characters between its previously only known congener, O. fugiens , and the ophiomyxid Renetheo felli . The three species appear to represent a line of taxa with progressively reduced skeleton instead of an ancient condition. We propose to transfer Ophiocanops back to the Ophiomyxidae, to synonymize Renetheo with Ophiocanops , and to invalidate the Ophiocanopidae, for which there is no autapomorphy‐based support. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 153 , 545–560.