Order Notomyotida Ludwig, 1910 has only one family, Benthopectinidae Verrill, 1899, which is superficially similar to family Astropectinidae Gray, 1840 of order Paxillosida Perrier, 1884 and has been variously evaluated since Fisher (1911) doubted the rank proposed by Ludwig (1910), until McKnight (1975) restored it. Family Benthopectinidae is primarily composed of deep-water species of eight genera, and many of its taxa can be expected to have wider range than can now be appreciated (Clark and Downey, 1992). Genus
A sea star was collected in adjacent water of Gisamun, Gangwon-do in the East Sea, Korea at a depth of 170 m by fishing net at May 2013 and was preserved in 95% ethyl alcohol. Its distinct morphological characteristics were photographed using stereo- and light-microscopes and a digital camera (Nikon SMZ1000, Nikon Eclipse 80i, Nikon 5000D; Nikon Co., Tokyo, Japan). Identification of specimen followed the taxonomies of Fisher (1911), Clark and Downey (1992), and Shin (2010).
Nowadays the identification of species on the basis of molecular analysis of gene is broadly put into use. DNA sequence data have served to expand the utility of molecular taxonomic tools and have led to their more mainstream use in species identification and discovery (Hebert et al., 2003). Until now, mitochondrial COI sequence of
Class Asteroidea de Blainville, 1830
Notomyota Ludwig, 1910; Fisher, 1911: 121; Mortensen, 1927: 70.
Myomata Verrill, 1914: 310.
Notomyotida McKnight, 1975: 15; Clark and Downey, 1992: 113; Mah, 2014: 123087.
Notomyotina Spencer and Wright, 1966: 48.
Dorsal side covered with spines and paxillae. Arms long, longitudinally flexible dorso-ventrally. Papulae usually restricted to proximal areas of dorsal side. Marginal plates well developed and spiniferous, tending to alternate longitudinally. Superambulacral plates absent. Adambulacral plates relatively large. Tube foot with a small sucking disk. Pedicellariae usually fasciculate or pectinate with numerous valves.
Pararchasterinae Sladen, 1889: 4.
Benthopectininae Verrill, 1894: 245; 1914: 310.
Benthopectinidae Verrill, 1899: 200; 1914: 310; Fisher, 1911: 120; Mortensen, 1927: 71; Clark and Courtman-Stock, 1976: 56; Clark, 1981: 91; Clark and Downey, 1992: 113; Mah, 2014: 123126.
Disk moderately broad. Arms narrow and long, tapering toward end of arm. Interradial arcs angular or rounded. Dorsal plates thin and scale-like or paxilliform, often more or less isolated on arms, central ones on disk sometimes armed with conspicuous spines. Adambulacral plates with one or more enlarged spines and a fan of furrow spines.
Type species:
Large primary plate bearing a long sharp spine on a low bump surrounded by a circle of accessory slender spinules, variable as to number and length. Two or three superomarginal spines and two to five inferomarginal spines present. Subambulacral spines long, one to three, usually two. Adamburacral spines one to seven. Oral plates large, with numerous marginal spines. Pectinate pedicellariae large, on any or all of dorsal, inferomarginal, and ventro-interbrachial areas.
Material examined. 1 specimen, Gisamun, Gangwon-do, Korea, 26 May 2013, at 170 m deep with fishing net.
Description. Disk rather broad and large. Arms very long and slender. Dorsal plates strongly stellate, especially each of larger plates at dorsal surface of disk and base of arms equipped with a bump articulating a long pointed primary spine (2.65-3.02 mm) surrounded by a circle of pointed short secondary spinules (0.17-0.19 mm). Smaller dorsal plates only with a group of small spinules. Papulae distributed all over disk except for a narrow median interradius, extending along arm to 16th or 17th superomarginal plate. Pectinate pedicellariae (0.73-1.25×1.01-1.34 mm) with four to seven valves large, numerous, very abundant on dorsal side but also present at ventro-interbrachial area and inframarginal plates. Superomarginal plates usually with two or three large pointed spines (5.04-6.61 mm). Inferomarginal plates with three or four primary spines (3.43-4.60 mm). Both marginal plates having small and weak accessory spinules clustered about base of primary spines. Odd interradial superomarginal plates three to five. Adambulacral spines (3.18-3.53 mm) slender, proximally three in number, of which central spines blunt and longest. Usually seven furrow spines at proximal portion of arm, of which three or four central spines (1.23-1.56 mm) longest, roughly equal length but two side spines (0.56 mm) very short. Madroporite (2.34×2.33 mm) oval, convex with irregular striae to outside, located at three fourths of distance between center and margin of disk, and near central margin of one interradius.
Size. R 121 mm, r 17 mm, R/r 7.1.
Color. Body color is light brown in alcohol.
Distribution. Korea (East Sea), Okhotsk Sea, Alaska, Bering Sea.
Remarks. This species was reported at a depth of 504 m (Fisher, 1911). Our specimen was collected at a depth of 170 m at adjacent water of Gisamun in the East Sea, Korea. D’yakonov (1950) recorded subspecies