Bathyporania ascendens Mah & Foltz, 2014, n. sp.

• Main Authors: Mah, Christopher L., Foltz, David W.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2014
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Echinodermata; Asteroidea; Valvatida; Poraniidae; Bathyporania; Bathyporania ascendens; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6133817; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/039F453C95528725FF0BFDB3FA81FD77

Bathyporania ascendens n. sp. Figure 2 A–E Etymology. Species epithet ascendens (=Latin for “ascending”) refers to the in situ observation of the animal’s climb up the upper branches of a deep-sea coral, where it was collected (Fig. 2 E). Taxonomic comparison. The phylogenetic tree shown in Fig. 1, illustrates Bathyporania as sister taxon to “ Porania ” antarctica but the single individual sampled does not clarify monophyly of Bathyporania relative to “ Porania ” antarctica . Distinction of this taxon as a separate genus is based on several characters including the more densely arranged reticulate skeleton with more lobate abactinal plates, the polylobate marginal plates arranged horizontally (versus vertically in “ P.” antarctica ), the absence of an actinolateral fringe of plates, the differnce in furrow spine morphology, actinal plate arrangements and differences in disk: arm ratio, including the outline of the arms. Adult size in the holotype of Bathyporania ascendens is also much smaller than those in “ Porania ” antarctica . Shared characters between the two genera include furrow spines which are arranged transversely, a disparately sized larger superomarginal and a smaller (<50%) sized inferomarginal plate series, as well as flattened marginal plates. The presence of a reticulate skeleton suggests affinities with Clavaporania nov. gen. , which otherwise appears different from Bathyporania . Figure 1 places Bathyporania as the sister taxon to “ Porania ” antarctica (see change below). Bathyporania displays superficial resemblance with two species, Poraniomorpha abyssicola and P. tumida , which we have placed within the genus Rhegaster below. Bathyporania differs in several respects from both Poraniomorpha abyssicola and P. t u m i d a , including the presence of a broadly reticulate abactinal skeleton, spinelet-tipped abactinal and marginal plates and marginal plates with a differing lobate shape than that of Rhegaster . Character similarities are interpreted as plesiomorphies, including single papular ...