Brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from the southern coast of Turkey (eastern Mediterranean): new records and revision of Amphiodia obtecta Mortensen, 1940

Brittle stars were collected on the southern coast of Turkey in 2005 and 2009. The most abundant species found (up to 420 ind. m(-2)) was Amphiodia obtecta. The taxonomic status of this species was unclear and is revised here. This is the first record of the genus Amphiodia in the Mediterranean Sea; it probably originates from the Red Sea, since it is absent from the entire Atlantic Ocean. Among the other species found, Ophiactis macrolepidota (previously reported as O. parva in the Mediterranean) is a new record for the marine fauna of Turkey.