''Aporometra paedophora'' is a
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
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* ...
invertebrate, a
species of
crinoid or feather star in the
family Aporometridae
Aporometridae is a monotypic family of crinoids, the only genus being ''Aporometra'', which contains three species, all endemic to the seas around Australia.
Description
Members of this family have five arms which subdivide near the base givin ...
. It was first found at a depth of 22 fathoms (40.2 m) off the
Manning River on the New South Wales coast.
[ Other specimens were found off the coast of Bunbury, Western Australia at depths between 9 and 15 m (but these have since been identified as '']Aporometra wilsoni
''Aporometra wilsoni'' is a marine invertebrate, a species of crinoid or feather star in the family Aporometridae. It is found in shallow water around the coasts of southern Australia.
Description
This is a small species of crinoid with a ...
'').[ Based on morphological evidence of four (somewhat degraded) specimens of ''A. paedophora'' (all paratypes), Helgen & Rouse believe that this may not be a separate species from '']Aporometra wilsoni
''Aporometra wilsoni'' is a marine invertebrate, a species of crinoid or feather star in the family Aporometridae. It is found in shallow water around the coasts of southern Australia.
Description
This is a small species of crinoid with a ...
''.[
]
Description
Plate XLVII shows three types of pinnules: first, second and distal pinnules (Figs 4-6), and pentacrinoid larvae (Figs 7-9) from youngest to oldest. Fig 10 shows a cirrus.[
In the earliest free-swimming stage, the arms are about 7 mm long and have about nine ]pinnules
A leaflet (occasionally called foliole) in botany is a leaf-like part of a compound leaf. Though it resembles an entire leaf, a leaflet is not borne on a main plant stem or branch, as a leaf is, but rather on a petiole or a branch of the leaf. Co ...
on each side.[
This is a small species of crinoid with arms up to long. All ]Clark
Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...
's large specimens carried pentacrinoid larvae attached to their pinnules.[
]
Distribution
This crinoid is endemic to temperate Australian waters,[ and apparently found only off the Manning River, in New South Wales.][
]
Ecology
The first specimens of ''Aporometra paedophora'' to be described were found clinging by their cirri to the pinnules and cirri of the crinoid, '' Ptilometra macronema''.[
Crinoids are dioecious, with separate male and female individuals. They do not have true gonads, instead they produce gametes from genital canals found inside some of the pinnules. In most species, the sperm and eggs are released into the water column when the pinnules rupture.]Aporometra wilsoni
''Aporometra wilsoni'' is a marine invertebrate, a species of crinoid or feather star in the family Aporometridae. It is found in shallow water around the coasts of southern Australia.
Description
This is a small species of crinoid with a ...
'', older specimens of ''A. paedophora'' carry their larvae in their pinnules.[
]
References
External links
*
{{taxonbar, from=Q2122341, from2=Q61744336
Aporometridae
Animals described in 1909
Taxa named by Hubert Lyman Clark