Echinoderms of the Rockall Trough and adjacent areas. I. Crinoidea, Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea

Abstract

Four species of crinoid, forty species of sea star and thirty-six species of brittle star are identified from recent benthic sampling in the deep-sea area to the west of the British Isles, mainly in the Rockall Trough. Of these, one crinoid, nine asteroids and eighteen ophiuroids have not previously been recorded from the seas around the British Isles. The zoogeographical distribution and bathymetric range of each species is summarised as far as was previously known giving the range extension provided by the present records. Notes are also provided on observations on the biology, including the mode of reproduction, of the more abundant species.