Sea cucumbers of the genus Labidodemas (Holothuroidea: Holothuriida: Holothuriidae) from Indonesia, with the description of a new species and a revised key to the genus.

The present paper describes two often-reported species of Labidodemas as present in Indonesia: L. rugosum (Ludwig, 1875) and L. semperianum Selenka, 1867, and describes a new species to science Labidodemas javaensis sp.

sp. nov., a new species of sea cucumber from British Columbia, Canada and the Gulf of Alaska, USA (Holothuroidea, Synallactida).

Background: The family Synallactidae comprises mostly deep-sea forms and is the least-studied large taxon amongst deep-sea cucumbers. They are part of the abyssal megafauna and play an important role in modifying the sediment landscape and structuring the communities that live within it. The family embraces the genus , which contains approximately twenty-five species from the Pacific, Atlantic (six species), Indian (seven species) and Antarctic Oceans (one species).

 sp. nov., a new species of apodous sea cucumber from Hawai`i (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea, Apodida).

occurs at a depth of 2.5 m in Kualoa, O`ahu, Hawai`i, living in coarse sand. It is distinctive in having 12 pinnate tentacles, each tentacle with three pairs of digits and 6-8 sensory cups.

Partial redescriptions of three holothurians with hook papillae (Apodida: Chiridotidae): Taeniogyrus japonicus (Marenzeller, 1882), T. dendyi (Mortensen, 1925), Scoliorhapis theelii (Heding, 1928).

New specimens of Taeniogyrus japonicus (Marenzeller) were collected from Iwami coast and Sado island of the Sea of Japan. According to detailed observations of external and internal organs, we transferred T. japonicus, T.

?Holothuria (Lessonothuria) coronata sp. nov. (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea), a new species of sea cucumber from Socorro Island, México.

Holothuria (Lessonothuria) coronata occurs in depths of 5-10 m off the Mexican Pacific coast at the Revillagigedo Archipelago. It is clearly distinguished from other species of the subgenus by the presence of tables with a circular disc and big peripheral holes, sometimes with a second series of peripheral ones, a disc with a spiny or smooth rim and a spire crossed by a single cross-beam, dorsal papillae, and ventral tube feet with curved supporting rods with a spiny edge.

Morphometry and Relative Growth of (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea), a Brittle Star from the Eastern Pacific.

Tropical ophiuroid fauna belonging to the family Ophiolepididae are almost unknown. This study deals with the relative growth and morphometric traits of the ophiuroid from the Gulf of California, Mexico. Specimens examined in this study came from the Colección Nacional de Equinodermos, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and were collected over soft bottoms off Punta Gorda.

Pentamera fonsecae n. sp. a new species of sea cucumber from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica (Holothuroidea: Dendrochirotida: Thyonidae).

Pentamera fonsecae n. sp. is described from seven specimens as a new species of Thyonidae from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

Discovery of Adults Linked to Cloning Oceanic Starfish Larvae (, Asteroidea: Echinodermata).

Two juvenile specimens of a new species of were collected at Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes and Triángulos Oeste in the southern Gulf of Mexico. DNA of mitochondrial loci identifies them as members of the same clade as cloning larvae of found abundantly in waters of the Florida Current-Gulf Stream system, and distinct from and , the two known Oreasteridae species in the North Atlantic. Larvae from the new species of persist as clones but also metamorphose and settle to the benthos with typical asteroid morphology.

Dark offshoot: Phylogenomic data sheds light on the evolutionary history of a new species of cave brittle star.

Caves are a useful system for testing evolutionary and biogeographic hypotheses, as they are isolated, and their environmental conditions have resulted in adaptive selection across different taxa. Although in recent years many more cave species have been discovered, cave-dwelling members of the class Ophiuroidea (brittle stars) remain scarce. Out of the more than two thousand species of brittle stars described to date, only three are regarded as true cave-dwellers.

sp. n., a new species of apodous sea cucumber from the Central Eastern Pacific coast of Mexico (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea, Apodida).

occurs in depths of 4-10 m off the Mexican Central Pacific coast. It is distinctive in having twelve tentacles, each tentacle with two or three pairs of digits and four to six sensory cups, lacking papillae or oval bumps and in reaching a maximum length of 50 mm in life.

Lissothuria imbricata sp. nov., a new species of sea cucumber (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) from the central-eastern Pacific Ocean.

A new species of sea cucumbers of the genus Lissothuria Verrill, 1867 is described. Lissothuria imbricata sp. nov.

Morphological comparison of Astropecten cingulatus and a new species of Astropecten (Paxillosida, Astropectinidae) from the Gulf of Mexico.

Astropecten cingulatus is a conspicuous species, which displays a large superomarginal plate series on the abactinal surface. Herein we describe a new species from off the Texas coast that shows the superficial appearance of A. cingulatus, including these large superomarginal plates, but with armature differing from that of typological A.

A revision of Holothuria (Halodeima) kefersteinii (Selenka, 1867) and the revival of Holothuria inornata Semper, 1868 from sea cucumbers collected in Mexico and Central America.

In 1958 Deichmann synonymized Holothuria inornata Semper, 1868 with Holothuria kefersteinii (Selenka, 1867). This nomenclature has been adopted until now. However, some specimens recently collected from the Mexican Pacific matched the original description of H.

An occurence records database of Irregular Echinoids (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) in Mexico.

Background: Research on echinoderms in Mexico began in the late nineteenth century. We present a dataset that includes the taxonomic and geographic information of irregular echinoids from Mexico, housed in four collections: 1) Colección Nacional de Equinodermos "Ma. Elena Caso Muñoz" from the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (ICML), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); 2) Invertebrate Zoology Collection, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.

A new cheilostome bryozoan genus, Abditoporella (Hippoporidridae), from the eastern Pacific.

Abditoporella dimorpha n. gen. et n.

Biological and taxonomic perspective of triterpenoid glycosides of sea cucumbers of the family Holothuriidae (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea).

Since the discovery of saponins in sea cucumbers, more than 150 triterpene glycosides have been described for the class Holothuroidea. The family Holothuriidae has been increasingly studied in search for these compounds. With many species awaiting recognition and formal description this family currently consists of five genera and the systematics at the species-level taxonomy is, however, not yet fully understood.

Revision of the genus Ophioteichus H.L. Clark, 1938 (Ophiuroidea: Ophiolepididae).

In this study we re-describe the ophiuroid genus Ophioteichus H.L. Clark, 1938 and diagnose the species using existing and new characters found by examining the type material.

Benthodytes violeta, a new species of a deep-sea holothuroid (Elasipodida: Psychropotidae) from Mar del Plata Canyon (south-western Atlantic Ocean).

A new species of elasipodid holothuroid, Benthodytes violeta sp. nov., is described from the Mar del Plata Canyon off Buenos Aires Province (around 38ºS-54ºW).

Ophioderma peruana, a new species of brittlestar (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea, Ophiodermatidae) from the Peruvian coast.

Ophioderma peruana sp. n. is a new species of Ophiodermatidae, extending the distribution of the genus Ophioderma to Lobos de Afuera Island, Peru, easily distinguishable from its congeners by its peculiarly fragmented dorsal arm plates.

Identification of echinoderms (Echinodermata) from an anchialine cave in Cozumel Island, Mexico, using DNA barcodes.

The echinoderm species richness of the Aerolito de Paraiso anchialine cave, on Cozumel Island, in the Mexican Caribbean, is assessed on the basis of morphological and DNA barcoding data. We included specimens from this cave system and from different open sea areas, and employed two different approaches for species delineation based on DNA barcoding data: a 2% cox1 divergence and the general mixed Yule-coalescent (GMYC) approaches. We subsequently compared the results derived from these approaches with our morphospecies discrimination.

[Echinoderms (Echinodermata) from the Gulf of California, Mexico].

A systematic list of the echinoderms of the Gulf of California, based on museum specimens of the Colección Nacional de Equinodermos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. is presented.

[Echinoderms (Echinodermata) of the Mexican Caribbean].

A systematic list of the echinoderms of the Mexican Caribbean based on museum specimens of the Colección Nacional de Equinodermos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. is presented.

[Echinoids (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) from the Gulf of Mexico].

The echinoid fauna of the Gulf of Mexico collected during three research cruises (20-1260 m depth) was surveyed from samples were taken at 43 stations. A total of 190 individuals were identified (eight orders, 11 families, 15 genera and 18 species). Six species are new records for the Gulf of Mexico: Stylocidaris lineata, Phormosoma placenta placenta, Plesiodiadema antillarum, Plethotaenia spatangoides, Brissopsis atlantica and Hypselaster limicolus.

[Echinoderms (Echinodermata) from the Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico].

We present a systematic list of the echinoderms from Gulf of Mexico's Mexican waters based on specimens of the Colecci6n Nacional de Equinodermos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de México and the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. This list reveals an important echinoderm biodiversity present in the Gulf of Mexico, where five of the six echinoderm classes are represented.