The asteroid fauna (Echinodermata) of Singapore, with a distribution table and an illustrated identification to the species

Abstract

Twenty-seven species of asteroids have been collected over the period 1991-1995 by dredging, SCUBA-diving, and hand-collecting in the territorial waters of Singapore. They include fourteen species newly recorded for the area: Luidia hardwicki (Gray), Astropecten novaeguineae Döderlein, Asterina coronata von Martens, Nepanthia belcheri (Perrier), Nepanthia maculata Gray, Patiriella pseudoexigua Dartnall, Tegulaster ceylanica (Döderlein), Anthenea aspera Döderlein, Gymnanthenea laevis H.L. Clark, Fromia monilis Perrier, Ophidiaster granifer Lütken, Tamaria fusca Gray, Echinaster callosus von Marenzeller, Echinaster stereosomus Fisher. A total of thirty-one species, belonging to nine families, are known presently from off Singapore. A distribution table and an illustrated identification key to the species are provided. A new synonymy is proposed: Asterina spinigera Koehler becoming a junior synonym of Asterina coronata von Martens.