Meridiastra mortenseni is a sea star of the family Asterinidae. It is endemic to New Zealand.[1] Described as Patiriella mortenseni in 2002,[2] it is named after T. Mortensen, who recorded it as distinct from Patiriella regularis, the New Zealand common cushion star, in 1925.[3] According to genetic evidence, P. mortenseni was moved from the Patiriella genus to Meridiastra in 2004.[4]
| Meridiastra mortenseni | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Valvatida |
| Family: | Asterinidae |
| Genus: | Meridiastra |
| Species: | M. mortenseni
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| Binomial name | |
| Meridiastra mortenseni O'Loughlin, Waters & Roy, 2002
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| Synonyms | |
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Patiriella mortenseni | |
Reciprocal transplant experiments in Fiordland have shown it is less tolerant of hyposaline conditions than the sympatric (but distantly related) P. regularis. This is reflected in its distribution: it lives in deeper waters (at depths of roughly 10±3 m in Milford and Doubtful Sounds), below the low salinity layer.[5] In laboratory conditions, they die after 24-hour exposure to water with salinities below 25‰.[5]
References
edit- ^ Mah CL, ed. (2023). "Meridiastra mortenseni (O'Loughlin, Waters & Roy, 2002)". World Asteroidea database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ O'Loughlin, P. M.; Waters, J. M. & Roy, M. S. (2002). "Description of a new species of Patiriella from New Zealand, and review of Patiriella regularis (Echinodermata, Asteroidea) based on morphological and molecular data". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 32 (4): 697–711. doi:10.1080/03014223.2002.9517716. S2CID 84807132.
- ^ Mortensen, T. 1925: Echinoderms of New Zealand and the Auckland-Campbell Islands. III-V. Asteroidea, Holothurioidea, Crinoidea. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk naturhistorisk Forening i København 79: 261–420.
- ^ O’Loughlin, P. Mark & Waters, Jonathan M. (2004). "A molecular and morphological revision of genera of Asterinidae (Echinodermata: Asteroidea)". Memoirs of Museum Victoria. 61 (1): 1–40. doi:10.24199/j.mmv.2004.61.1.
- ^ a b Barker, M.F. & Russell, M.P. (2008). "The distribution and behaviour of Patiriella mortenseni and P. regularis in the extreme hyposaline conditions of the southern New Zealand fiords". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 355: 76–84. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2007.12.001.
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