January-April, 2013 
SCAMIT Newsletter 
Vol. 31 Nos. 5-6 
We briefly touehed on separating Dougaloplus from Amphioplus sp A. Both have hyaline eross- 
bars on the tips of the arm spines and so eannot be eonfldently identifled without the dise eap 
intaet. If an animal is regenerating or missing the dise eap, one should baek-off to the family 
Amphiuridae beeause the primary differenees between the genera/speeies are restrieted to 
eharaeteristies of the dise. 
The presentation portion of the meeting eoneluded with a general diseussion of size limitations. 
However, along the way, the group diseussed the need (or desire) to ask all ageneies to supply a 
eopy of their identifleation eonventions for eonsolidation and eomparison. 
Megan suggested the following guidelines for limiting speeifle identifleation by size: 
Ophiuroids should have a dise diameter greater than 2 mm. 
Astropecten greater than 5 mm arm-to-arm ean be identifled to speeies; but those between 3-5 
mm should be left at genus {Astropecten)-, and those less than 3 mm should be left at elass 
(Asteroidea). 
Brisaster speeimens should have a test length >30 mm before they ean be eonfldently identifled to 
speeies. 
Dendraster speeies are typieally depth dependent. Speeimens from samples >30 m depth should 
be D. terminalis', while those from <30 m depth should be D. excentricus. Samples eoming from 
30m depth eould beeome an issue and may require a size limitation. [M. Lilly update July 2016: 
specimens of D. terminalis have been collected in 20m of water, but were sampled outside of 
"high energy" zones]. 
We then adjourned to review speeimens of interest. 
Juvenile Ophiura - This was an odd speeimen for review of size limitations, but was determined 
to be Ophiura luetkenii. 
We reviewed a speeimen of Pentamera rigida from Hyperion, whieh was eonflrmed by tissue 
disseetion. The speeimen eame from Los Angeles Harbor at 14m depth. 
We also reviewed speeimens of Amphiodia from LACSD. The lot ineluded good speeimens of A. 
digitata and A. urtica, and others thought to be A. digitata. But after some review and diseussion 
of the hyaline forks, the latter speeimens were determined to be A. urtica. 
Amphiodia sp A LACSD was also examined. This speeies has long arms that typieally do not fall 
from the body, but remain intaet. In EtOH the arms disentangle easily. There is some pigment on 
the dorsal arm plates, but use eolor with eaution. A. sp A are typieally found in shallow and eoarse 
sandy sediments. A distributed voueher sheet does exist, but is not ineluded in the SCAMIT 
toolbox. 
Several speeimens of Ophiopsila californica were reviewed. Dorsal arm plates are “balloon- 
shaped” and the tentaele seales are nearly as long as arm spines. 
12 
Publication Date: 28 July 2016 
