REVISION OF THE RECENT INDO-WEST PACIFIC COMATULID GENUS COMASTER AGASSIZ - PART 1 - THE TYPE SPECIES OF COMASTER AND PHANOGENIA LOVEN (ECHINODERMATA, CRINOIDEA, COMASTERIDAE)

The Indo-Pacific reef-dwelling comatulid crinoid Comaster multifidus ( Muller, 1841) is the type species of the genus Comaster Agassiz, 1836. Re-examination of the type specimen of C. multftidus shows that it do es not conform to the concept of the species as currently applied and does not belong in the genus as currently diagnosed. Instead, it falls within Comanthina A. H. Clark, 1909, and is identical to Comanthina v ariabilis Bell, 1882. Comanthina thus becomes a junior synonym of Coma ster because Actinometra nobilis Carpenter, 1884, the type species of Comanthina, is clearly congeneric with A. variabilis. Species currentl y assigned to Comanthina are herein transferred to Comaster. The other species currently included in Comaster represent a distinct taxonomic group and are herein transferred to the next most senior available ge nus, Phanogenia Loven, 1866. The holotypes of the type species of Coma ster and Phanogenia are redescribed in detail.