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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 20(3)

Species delimitation and distribution in Aporometra (Crinoidea : Echinodermata): endemic Australian featherstars

Lauren E. Helgen A C and Greg W. Rouse A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 Australia.

B South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000 Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: lauren.helgen@gmail.com

Invertebrate Systematics 20(3) 395-414 https://doi.org/10.1071/IS05050
Submitted: 17 October 2005  Accepted: 24 March 2006   Published: 20 June 2006

Abstract

Aporometra Clark, 1938, which belongs to the monotypic Aporometridae, is a crinoid genus endemic to temperate Australian waters. It has been described as being ‘viviparous’ and is among the smallest of comatulids. The small size of specimens, and poor morphological justifications for specific diagnoses have created uncertainty over the number of species in the genus and their distributions. This study identified a suite of characters using data from scanning electron microscopy and mtDNA sequencing (CO1 and ND2) to assess the number of species of Aporometra. Specimens were obtained from museums and collected from Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. Type material was also examined when possible. Phylogenetic hypotheses were generated using maximum parsimony-based analyses of the separate and combined datasets. The results support the monophyly of Aporometra and the presence of two species, Aporometra wilsoni (Bell, 1888) and Aporometra occidentalis A. H. Clark, 1938, along the southern Australian coast. The status of the third nominal species, Aporometra paedophora (H. L. Clark, 1909), remains to be resolved, but it may be a junior synonym of A. wilsoni. Morphological diagnoses are reviewed. Aporometra occidentalis was only found in Western Australia, while A. wilsoni was found from Western Australia to Victoria. Phylogeographic differentiation between the western and southern populations of A. wilsoni is briefly discussed.


Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Helen Tassie who first alerted us to a population of Aporometra near Adelaide and allowed this project to start. We would like to thank Thierry Laperousaz (SAM), Michelle Stuckey, Tim O’Hara (MV) and Jane Fromont (WAM) for providing specimens for the study; Penny Berents (AM), and Fred Collier (MCZ) for kindly loaning type specimens and Rich Mooi (CAS) for the loan of Notocrinus specimens. Andrea Scouras and Teena Browning helped with primers for this study. We would also like to thank the staff at Adelaide Microscopy, the SAM Evolutionary Biology Unit, Steve Donnellan, Kristofer Helgen, Nerida Wilson and the Johnston family for their assistance. We thank Charles Messing and Tim O’Hara for insightful reviews that improved this manuscript. This work was funded by the Australian Biological Resources Survey, Australian Research Council and Friends of the South Australian Museum.


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Appendix 1.  List of specimens scored and sequenced for the present study
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Appendix 2.  Terminals used in the morphology matrix with notes on scoring
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