Doraster constellatus Downey 1970

One of the paratypes of this species (USNM E 11354) was collected from the Gulf of Mosquitos (Centroid Latitude: 9.2667, Centroid Longitude: -81.6167), Panama, Caribbean Sea, by the R. V. Oregon, from a depth of 512 m.

Other specimens have been collected from Valiente Peninsula (USNM E 18504, USNM E 18505); Centroid Latitude: 9.22, Centroid Longitude: -81.50), Gulf of Mosquitos, Panama, Caribbean Sea from a depth of 732 to 914 m.

Clark, A.M. and M.E. Downey. (1992). Starfishes of the Atlantic. Chapman & Hall Identification Guides, 3. Chapman & Hall: London, UK. ISBN 0-412-43280-3. xxvi, 794 pp.

Downey, M.E. (1970). Zorocallida, new order, and Doraster constellatus, new genus and species, with notes on the Zoroasteridae. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 64: 5-12, figs 3-11.

World Asteroidea Database

LSID urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:178770

Doraster cancellatus Jangoux, 1978 (lapsus for D. constellatus)

Paratype: USNM E 11354

Type locality: Gulf of Mosquitos (Centroid Latitude: 9.2667, Centroid Longitude: -81.6167, depth 512 m), Panama, Caribbean Sea.

Doraster constellatus

DESCRIPTION.—The plates of the disc dorsum are large, flat, stellate, smooth, skin-covered. The central plate usually bears a stubby tubercle and a similar tubercle sometimes occurs on other primary disc plates. The anus, surrounded by small spinelets, is located in one of the angles of the central plate. Surrounding the centrodorsum are 5 primary interradial plates, and between and underneath them are 5 radial plates on which the 5 pointed lobes of the centrodorsum rest; just outside and partly overlaying the primary interradials are 5 large primary radials; a pair of interradial plates, entirely concealed by skin and the overlapping primary radials, lie between and beneath the primary radials and 4 enlarged imbricating (in large specimens, fused) adradials (Figure 3) which occupy the interradial angle. Small pedicellariae and tiny granuliform platelets (Figure 4) occur between the plates of the disc. The madreporite is slightly smaller than the disc plates, raised, covered with irregular channels, and located between a primary interradial and the enlarged interradial adradials; it actually rests on a pair of concealed interradials. The first carinal is enlarged, about the same size as the interradial adradials.

The interradial gonads are in grape-like clusters, short, hardly extending into the arm; they are attached interadially 1 on either side of the enlarged 1st superambulacral plates.

The jaw (Figures 5, 6) is one solid piece (made up of 2 pairs of adambulacral plates), projecting into the peristome. Behind it are 4 pairs of adambulacrals joined across the interradius by a tooth-and-socket arrangement strongly reminiscent of the way the ambulacral plates are joined at the top of the ambulacral groove. Internally, the front of the jaw is flaired like the carinate adambulacral plates and bears, on each side, 3 subequal spines completely covered with tiny straight pedicellariae, which thus form a wreath around the peristome. External to these 3 pairs of oral spines is a single pair of long sharp spines. The next 2 pairs of adambulacral plates behind the jaw bear each a single pair of long sharp spines, and the 2 pairs behind them bear 4 to 6 similar spines. The 7th and 8th pairs of interradial adambulacrals are separated by a large duck-billed pedicellaria. The first 2 pairs of ambulacral plates are also strongly fused and greatly swollen. The ambulacrals curve sharply upward under the disc and thus support the disc in a domed position. The 2 fused pairs are buttressed against the body wall by a solid ridge formed of the first 2 (enlarged) superambulacral plates. A pore for the oral tubefoot occurs in the angle between the fused ambulacrals and the buttressing superambulacrals. Superambulacral plates of two kinds occur, alternately, but do not continue to the end of the arm; rather, they diminish in size and eventually disappear. A straight, triangular superambulacral plate alternates with a thin, flaired superambulacral plate which terminates in a broad flat disc resting on the ambulacral plates. They gradually become similar, small, and granuliform, and do not continue much beyond the middle of the arm. The tubefeet are in 4 rows proximally, 2 rows distally. Around the mouth, they are straight and conspicuously annulated and terminate in a large suckered disc, but beyond the confines of the disc, they are stout and conical and taper to a tiny disc, indicating that the original, more “primitive” condition in this order was with a large suckered disc, while the pointed tubefoot is a functional adaption.

On the arms, the carinal plates and 2 rows of plates on either side (adradials and superomarginals) are covered with skin, devoid of spines or spinules, but may have small pedicellariae, especially proximally. The carinals may have a central, non-spine-bearing tubercle. Adradial plates overlap carinals and superomarginals. Carinals and adradials about equal in size, somewhat cruciform, wider than long; superomarginals slightly smaller, lobed or, in large specimens, somewhat triangular, tapering toward actinal surface. On large specimens, an irregular row of tiny granuliform platelets (Figure 4) occurs between the carinals and the adradials; a few also occur sporadically on the disc. Proximally, there are 5 rows of plates between the superomarginals and the adambulacrals covered with small sacculate spinules; the row adjoining the superomarginals is the inferomarginal row. About halfway out on the arm, one row of plates between the inferomarginals and the adambulacrals drops out, then further out, another, until at the end of the arm only the carinals, adradials (by this time very small), superomarginals, and inferomarginals remain. The row of plates adjoining the adambulacrals is very narrow, longer than broad, and only the edge of the plate may be visible. Most of the actinolaterals carry a long, flattened, appressed spine, directed upward and attached to a prominent tubercle. All of these arm plates are in regular longitudinal and transverse rows; however, the latter do not correspond to the adambulacrals. Papulae occur singly or in groups of up to 5 between the plates; none occur below the inferomarginals. The terminal ocular plates are cordiform, covering the arm tip, with 3 or more coarse terminal spines.

Adambulacral plates are of two alternating sorts, carinate and noncarinate (Figure 7) ; the carinate adambulacrals project strongly into the ambulacral groove and bear 4 movable spines on a transverse row of tubercles. The spines are stout and rounded at the point of attachment, tapering rapidly to a point; they may be curved. The 1st or 2nd spine usually bears a large duck-billed pedicellaria (Figure 8), and there are numerous small straight pedicellariae. The noncarinate adambulacrals bear 3 to 5 small spinelets on their outer surface and do not project into the furrow; they may also bear small straight pedicellariae.


SIZE RANGE.—R=42 mm to 220 mm; r=7 mm to 32 mm. Average R/r=10/l. R = major radius, from center of disc to tip of arm. r=minor radius, from center of disk to interbrachial margin.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.—Oregon station 3583, 09° 16′N, 81°37′W, 280 fms., May 1962, 1 specimen; Oregon station 382, 29°11.5′N, 88°07.5′W, 190–210 fms., June 1951,6 specimens; Oregon station 2780, 11°36′N, 62°52′W, 215–230 fms., April 1960, 2 specimens; Alaminos station 21/68–A–13, 27°37.5′N, 95°20′W, 350 fms., November 1968, 1 specimen; Oregon II station 10602, 07°46′N, 54°35′W, 299 fms., May 1969, 1 specimen; Albatross station 2376, 29°03′N, 88°16′W, 324 fms., February 1885,8 specimens; Albatross station 2377, 29°07′N, 88°08′W, 210 fms., February 1885, 4 specimens; Albatross station 2396, 28°34′N, 86°48′W, 335 fms., March 1885, 1 specimen; Albatross station unknown, winter cruise 1885, 1 specimen.

LOCATION OF TYPE-MATERIAL.—Holotype (USNM E11352) and 22 paratypes in United States National Museum; 1 paratype in British Museum; 1 paratype in Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard.

Doraster constellatus Downey, 1970b:5–12, figs. 2c, 3–11

The plates of the disc dorsum are large, flat, stellate, smooth, and skin covered. The central plate usually bears a stubby tubercle and a similar tubercle sometimes occurs on other primary disc plates. The anus, surrounded by small spinelets, is located in one of the angles of the central plate. Surrounding the centrodorsum are five primary interradial plates, and between and underneath them are five radial plates on which the five pointed lobes of the centrodorsum rest; just outside and partly covering the primary interradials are five large primary radials; a pair of interradial plates, entirely concealed by skin and the overlapping primary radials, lie between and beneath the primary radials and four enlarged imbricating (in large specimens, fused) adradials that occupy the interradial angle. Small pedicellariae and tiny granuliform platelets occur between the plates of the disc. The madreporite is slightly smaller than the disc plates, raised, covered with irregular channels, and located between a primary interradial and the enlarged interradial adradials; it actually rests on a pair of concealed interradials.

The first carinal is enlarged, about the same size as the interradial adradials. The jaw is one solid piece (made up of two pairs of adambulacral plates), projecting into the peristome. Behind it are four pairs of adambulacrals joined across the interradius by a tooth-and-socket arrangement reminiscent of the way the ambulacral plates are joined at the top of the ambulacral groove. Internally, the front of the jaw is flaired like the carinate adambulacral plates and bears, on each side, three subequal spines completely covered with tiny, straight pedicellariae, which thus form a wreath around the peristome. External to these three pairs of oral spines is a single pair of long, sharp spines. The next two pairs of adambulacral plates behind the jaw each bear a single pair of long sharp spines, and the two pairs behind them bear 4–6 similar spines. The seventh and eighth pairs of interradial adambulacrals are separated by a large duck-billed pedicellaria. The first two pairs of ambulacral plates are also strongly fused and greatly swollen. The ambulacrals curve sharply upward under the disc and thus support the disc in a domed position. The two fused pairs are buttressed against the body wall by a solid ridge formed of the first two (enlarged) superambulacral plates. Superambulacral plates of two kinds occur, alternately, but do not continue to end of the arm; rather, they diminish in size and eventually disappear. A straight, triangular superambulacral plate alternates with a thin, flaired superambulacral, which terminates in a broad, flat disc resting on the ambulacral plates.

They gradually become similar, small, and granuliform, and do not continue much beyond the middle of the arm. The tube feet are in four rows proximally, two distally. Around the mouth, they are straight and conspicuously annulated and terminate in a large suckered disc, but beyond the confines of the disc, they are stout and conical and taper to a tiny disc. On the arms, the carinal plates and two rows of plates on either side (adradials and superomarginals) are covered with skin, devoid of spines or spinules, but may have small pedicellariae, especially proximally. The carinals may have a central, nonspine-bearing tubercle. Adradial plates overlap carinals and superomarginals. The carinals and adradials are about equal in size, somewhat cruciform, wider than long; the superomarginals are slightly smaller, lobed, or, in large specimens, somewhat triangular, tapering toward the actinal surface. On large specimens, an irregular row of tiny granuliform platelets occurs between the carinals and the adradials; a few also occur sporadically on the disc. Proximally, there are five rows of plates between the superomarginals and the adambulacrals, covered with small sacculate spinules; the row adjoining the superomarginals is the inferomarginal row. About halfway out on the arm, one row of plates drops out, then farther out another, until at the end of the arm only the carinals, very small adradials, superomarginals, and inferomarginals remain.

The row of plates adjoining the adambulacrals is very narrow, longer than broad, and only the edge of the plate may be visible. Most of the actinolaterals carry a long, flattened, appressed spine, directed upward and attached to a prominent tubercle. All of these arm plates are in regular longitudinal and transverse rows; however, the latter do not correspond to the adambulacrals. Papulae occur singly or in groups of up to five between the plates; none occur below the inferomarginals. The terminal ocular plates are cordiform, covering the arm tip, with three or more coarse terminal spines. Adambulacral plates are of two alternating sorts, carinate and noncarinate; the carinate adambulacrals project strongly into the ambulacral groove and bear four movable spines on a transverse row of tubercles. The spines are stout and rounded at the point of attachment, tapering rapidly to a point; they may be curved. The first or second spine usually bears a large duck-billed pedicellaria, and there are numerous small, straight pedicellariae. The noncarinate adambulacrals bear 3–5 small spinelets on their outer surface and do not project into the furrow; they may also bear small, straight pedicellariae.

This species seems to be limited to the northern Gulf of Mexico, in 190–350 fathoms.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.–Oregon Stations: 3583 (1) [R=80 mm, r=12 mm, Rr=1:6.6]; 382 (6) [R=122 mm, r=12 mm, Rr=1:10]; 2780 (2) [R=239 mm, r=38 mm, Rr=1:7]. Alaminos Station 21/68-A-13 (1) [R=121 mm, r=15mm, Rr=1:9]. Oregon II Station 10602 (1) [R=183 mm, r=23 mm, Rr=1:9].

Mammaster Perrier

Mammaster Perrier, 1894:125. [Type, by monotypy, Zoroaster sigsbeei Perrier.]