Bull. not. Hist. Mus. Lond. (Zool.) 63(2): 129-136 



Issued 28 November 1997 



A new species in the asterinid genus Patiriella 

 (Echinodermata, Asteroidea) from Dhofar, 

 southern Oman: a temperate taxon in a 

 tropical locality 



ANDREW C. CAMPBELL ^< 



School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary and Weslfield College, University of London, Mile End Road, 

 London El 4NS, UK. 



FRANCIS W.E. ROWE 



Goldbrook Boarding Kennels and Cattery, Nuttery Vale, Cross Street, Hoxne, Suffolk, IP2J 5BB, U.K. 



CONTENTS 



Synopsis 129 



Introduction 129 



Systematic Description 129 



Patiriella 129 



Zoogeographic Considerations 135 



Acknowledgements 136 



References 136 



SYNOPSIS. The status of the hitherto temperate-water asterinid genus Patiriella is briefly discussed, including in its diagnosis 

 details of actinal plate and ventral/lateral plate arrangement. A new species, P. paradoxa, is described from shallow water on the 

 Dhofar coast of Oman. The distribution of Patiriella on the Dhofar coast is discussed in relation to the peculiar oceanographic 

 conditions and vicariant events in the region. 



INTRODUCTION 



SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION 



Although one of us (ACC) made extensive collections along the 

 coasts of the Sultanate of Oman between 1983 and 1990 (Campbell 

 and Morrison, 1988 and Marsh and Campbell, 1991), the echinoderm 

 fauna of southern Arabia remains incompletely known. However, 

 those echinoderms which have been recorded are tropical species or 

 endemic species with tropical affinities (Clark and Rowe, 1971; 

 Price, 1982; Campbell and Morrison, 1988; Marsh and Campbell, 

 1991). The discovery (by FWER) of three specimens of a new 

 species of the predominently temperate-water, asterinid starfish 

 genus Patiriella Verril (1913) among the Omani shallow water (less 

 than 10m) collections from two sites in Dhofar therefore poses a 

 paradox. 



Here we briefly discuss the status of the genus Patiriella and 

 describe fully the new species. This work attempts to explain the 

 presence of an otherwise temperate-water echinoderm genus in this 

 tropical location, given the peculiar local oceanic conditions which 

 include upwelling (see summary by Campbell and Morrison, 1988), 

 and past vicariant events. 



The type specimens have been deposited in the Natural History 

 Museum, London U.K. 



PATIRIELLA Verrill 



Patiriella Verrill, 1913: 483; 1914: 263; Fisher, 1919: 410; H.L. 

 Clark, 1946: 134; Dartnall, 1971: 39; A.M. Clark and Courtman- 

 Stock, 1976: 80; A.M. Clark, 1983: 365; A.M. Clark and Downey, 

 1992: 192. 



TYPE SPECIES. Asterina (Asteriscus) regularis Verrill, 1870 

 (1867); by original designation. 



Diagnosis 



After A.M. Clark in A.M. Clark and Downey (1992), amended. 



A genus of Asterinidae with five to about eleven short rays (R up 

 to c. 60mm); pentagonal to stellate in outline; aborally arched; 

 primary abactinal plates in two 'fields', a slightly irregular radial 

 (usually the midradial and first dorsal-lateral series on either side) 

 'field' and a regular lateral 'field' on either side; mid-radial abactinal 

 plates with proximal edge trilobed or simply crescentic; the proxi- 

 mal concave sides of abactinal plates subtend spaces with usually 

 one to several papular pores, separated by one to several small 

 secondary plates; abactinal armament comprising relatively few 

 (< 40 per plate) very coarse, almost granuliform, multipillared 



i The Natural History Museum, 1997 



