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Brittlestars with a bite: a new kind of pedicellaria in echinoderms

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Abstract

Echinoderm pedicellariae are groups of specialized opposable spines (valves) that articulate on a baseplate. The valves of a pedicellaria act together to grasp items for prey capture, surface cleaning, or defense. Pedicellariae have long been known to occur in sea urchins and seastars, and many types for different functions have been described. Here we describe a type of pedicellaria in basketstars and snakestars in the euryalid family Gorgonocephalidae. Valves of gorgonocephalous pedicellariae have been described and illustrated as independent “hooklets” since the 1800s. Aside from one illustration in 1930, baseplates have been illustrated only since the 1980s, after the advent of the scanning electron microscope. The structure, arrangement, and operation of valves on baseplates warrant their recognition as a pedicellaria, analogous to those of sea urchins and seastars. The gorgonocephalous pedicellaria is a multi-valved, unstalked, crossed pedicellaria. It is described and illustrated here with recommended morphological terminology to facilitate future studies on biomechanics, histology, paleontology, and phylogenetics.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the following individuals who, at the time, were students, staff, or faculty at Florida Institute of Technology: Gayle Duncombe and Jennifer Seeley for assistance with scanning electron microscopy; Michael Grace for supervision of the High Resolution Microscopy and Advanced Imaging Center; John H. Trefry for specimens of Gorgonocephalus eucnemis; Rebecca Thoms for collection of Astrocnida isidis and some specimens of Astracme mucronata. Specimens of some species were provided by the late John H. Dearborn (University of Maine, Astrotoma agassizii), Charles G. Messing (Nova Southeastern University, Astracme mucronata, Astrogomphus vallatus), John E. Miller (Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Asteroporpa annulata). Corinne Fuchs (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) provided the photograph of Astrocyclus caecilia (Fig. 1f). Gordon Hendler (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County) alerted us to the important article by Agassiz (1873), and John M. Lawrence (University of South Florida) translated critical parts of Perrier (1869) and Cuénot (1891). We appreciate the feedback given by two reviewers, one of whom (Ben Thuy, Natural History Museum of Luxembourg) provided important suggestions, corrections, and additional references in his open review.

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  1. Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Blvd., Melbourne, FL, 32901, USA

    Richard L. Turner, Jason M. Boucher, Brenna O. O’Neill & Nicole W. Becker

  2. Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, Little Creek Fisheries Office, 3002 Bayside Drive Dover, Delaware, 19901, USA

    Jason M. Boucher

  3. Flagship Biosciences, Inc., 11800 Ridge Parkway, Suite 450, Broomfield, CO, 80021, USA

    Brenna O. O’Neill

  4. Shipwreck Island Waterpark, 12201 Hutchison Blvd., Panama City Beach, Florida, 32407, USA

    Nicole W. Becker

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Turner, R.L., Boucher, J.M., O’Neill, B.O. et al. Brittlestars with a bite: a new kind of pedicellaria in echinoderms. Zoomorphology 140, 505–525 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-021-00542-4

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