New record of the stalked crinoid from Andaman Sea

Phylum: Echinodermata Bruguière, 1791

Class: Crinoidea Miller, 1821

Order: Isocrinida Sieverts-Doreck, 1952

Family: Isocrinidae Gislén, 1924

Saracrinus angulatus Carpenter, 1884

Collection: Andaman Sea – Off Central Nicobar Islands, 8°23.35’ N, 93°20.534’E , 601-643m, 29.01.15 (FORVSS 334, St. 07A). Demersal trawl.

Voucher No.: Not Available

Description: Stalk stout, pale yellow to straw coloured in fresh specimen, with crowded cirri; total stalk length around 18 cm; crown robust with more than 25 arms; arm length around 9–12 cm. Arm branching isotomous; pinnule length progressively decreasing distally. The arm tips are moderately long and lack pinnules. Proximal diameter (Dp) 6.1 mm, stellate in outline. Interarticular pores reach 10–11 internodes. Interarticular pores reach 10–11 internodes. Cirri with 42–51 stout cirrals; C₁L shorter than wide; C₉ to C₁₃longest; following cirrals gradually shorter.Basals distinctly quadrilateral; radials rectangular. The basals are united into a complete ring, prominent on the calyx exterior and extending downwards over the proximal columnals. Arms more than 25; rarely more than three divisions per ray; rays in close apposition. Symplexies with small interpetaloid furrows. Petaloid areolas distinctly lanceolate and surrounded by a closed crenularium.

Biological association: None.

Remarks: Near-bottom mean temperature, mean salinity and mean dissolved oxygen of the sampling location were 8.74 ± 0.0124 °C, 34.96 ± 0.0002 ppt and 0.76 ± 0.0022 ml/L, respectively.

Distribution: North-eastern Pacific Ocean (from Japan to north-western Australia), Northern Indian Ocean, Andaman Sea.

Distribution map:

Identified by: Chippy Khader

Publication: Khader Chippy, N. Saravanane, B. Kishore Kumar & V. N. Sanjeevan (2016) New record of the stalked crinoid Saracrinus angulatus (Echinodermata: Crinoidea: Isocrinida) from Andaman Sea, Northern Indian Ocean. Marine Biodiversity, DOI 10.1007/s12526-016-0626-7.