Trichaster flagellifer von Martens, 1866

Trichaster flagellifer von Martens, 1866 View in CoL

( Fig. 4A–E View FIGURE 4 )

Trichaster flagellifer von Martens, 1866: 87 View in CoL ; Liao & Clark, 1995: 163, fig. 69. Trichaster elegans Ludwig, 1878: 59 View in CoL .

Material Examined. USNM 1072573, Anton Bruun Cruise 1 Station AB39A, Andaman Sea, 14°52’N, 96°39’E, 48–64 m, 31 March 1963. 1 specimen ( Fig. 4A–E View FIGURE 4 ).

Remarks. The specimen has a disc diameter of 32 mm, and arms 200 mm long, branched only five times in their distal half, the first branch occurring at 42 segments from the disc ( Fig. 4A–B View FIGURE 4 ). This remote branching is a characteristic of the genus, along with longitudinal aboral, and vertical lateral, arm ridging. The disc is flat and smooth in the centre ( Fig. 4C View FIGURE 4 ), with the radial shields exposed only distally as small triangles ( Fig. 4D View FIGURE 4 ). There are two arm spines ( Fig. 4E View FIGURE 4 ).

The specimen was taken at only 1 of 7 benthic shelf stations in the Gulf of Martaban in the northern Andaman Sea, an area near the type locality for this species ( Bay of Bengal). It has, however, been found elsewhere in the tropical Indo-west Pacific Ocean, including the Arafura Sea, South China, Japan, and the Philippines, in 65–146 meters ( Liao & A. M. Clark, 1995; Rowe & Gates, 1995).