Xyloplax princealberti (Asteroidea, Echinodermata): A New Species That Is Not Always Associated with Wood Falls

Abstract

Xyloplax is a genus of three species of sea stars previously found only on sunken wood in the deep ocean. Their circular and petaloid bodies, which lend them their common name “sea daisy”, and their presumed exclusive diet of wood make them an unusual and rare element of deep-sea ecosystems. We describe here the fourth species of Xyloplax from the eastern Pacific Ocean, Xyloplax princealberti n. sp., which ranges from offshore Canada to the Gulf of California (Mexico) and Costa Rica. Though sampled geographically close to another described species of Xyloplax from the northeastern Pacific, X. janetae, this new species is unique morphologically and according to available DNA data. The short abactinal spines are the most obvious feature that distinguishes X. princealberti n. sp. from other Xyloplax. The minimum distance for mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I from Xyloplax princealberti n. sp. to the only other available Xyloplax, X. janetae, was 13.5%. We also describe Ridgeia vestimentiferan tubeworm bushes from active hydrothermal vents as a new Xyloplax habitat, the first record of a non-wood substrate, and a new reproductive strategy, simultaneous hermaphroditism, for this genus. We generated the first mitochondrial genome for a member of Xyloplax and analyzed it with other available asteroid data using nucleotide-coding or amino acid (for protein-coding genes) plus nucleotide coding (for rRNA genes). The nucleotide-coding results place Xylopax as part of the clade Velatida, consistent with a previous phylogenomic analysis that included Xyloplax princealberti n. sp. (as Xyloplax sp.), though the placement of Velatida within Asteroidea differed. The amino acid plus nucleotide coding recovered Velatida to be a grade with X. princealberti n. sp. as sister group to all other Asteroidea.