Meridiastra mortenseni
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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]
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
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- ↑ 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.
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