Leptasterias (Hexasterias) polaris

• Main Authors: Madeira, Patrícia, Kroh, Andreas, Cordeiro, Ricardo, De, António M., Martins, Frias, Ávila, Sérgio P.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2019
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Echinodermata; Asteroidea; Forcipulatida; Asteriidae; Leptasterias; Leptasterias polaris; Arctic; Greenland; Andreas; Ricardo; Perrier
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5583483; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/4148D21204F8FF7AFF33F91A728F1254

Erroneous— Leptasterias ( Hexasterias ) polaris (Müller & Troschel, 1842) Reports for the Azores: Leptasterias (Hexasterias) polaris (M̹ller & Troschel, 1842)— Pereira 1997: 336; Leptasterias polaris (M̹ller & Troschel, 1842)— Micael & Costa 2010: 321. Type locality: Greenland. See: Fisher (1930: 60–61, pl. 30, figs. 1, 1a–c, 2, 2a–2d, pl. 32, figs. 3, 3a, pl. 35, figs. 1–3); A.M. Clark & Downey (1992: 441–442). Occurrence: circumpolar Arctic; in the Atlantic, from Labrador and Greenland south to George’s Bank (Fisher 1930, A.M. Clark & Downey 1992). Depth: 0–360 m (A.M. Clark & Downey 1992). Habitat: juveniles and small adults can be found on rocky substrates in shallow water, below lowest water of spring tides; large adults occupy cobble to sandy and muddy areas at greater depths (Rochette et al . 1994). Larval stage: brooding (Hamel & Mercier 1995). Remarks: Perrier (1896a) reported L. polaris (as Asterias polaris ) from the Azorean rocky intertidal, which later Koehler (1924) re-identifed to Asterias rubens . Later references of this species to the archipelago were based on Perrier’s original report. Nonetheless, the sea surface temperatures in the Azores reach an average minimum of 14°C in the winter (Bashmachnikov et al . 2004) clearly providing an inhospitable environment far too warm to sustain a viable population of this Arctic species (see Hamel & Mercier 1995). The same conclusion can be reached on the possible presence of C . crispatus in the archipelago, i.e. it is unlikely that this stenothermal boreo-arctic species (see Shick et al . 1981) could maintain a viable population in the rocky shores of the Azores. Published as part of Madeira, Patrícia, Kroh, Andreas, Cordeiro, Ricardo, De, António M., Martins, Frias & Ávila, Sérgio P., 2019, The Echinoderm Fauna of the Azores (NE Atlantic Ocean), pp. 1-231 in Zootaxa 4639 (1) on pages 169-170, DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.4639.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3342161