Bathypectinura heros

F 89898, 99709, 101769.

Family - Ophiodermatidae.

Description

The disc is flat. The radial shields are round or triangular with rounded corners, separated and parallel to one another; 1.4–1.6 times long as wide, and length 0.09 times d.d. The dorsal surface is covered by plates, bearing spines/granules or skin bearing spines/granules, obscured by skin, with a visible diameter of 0.4–1 mm, overlapping; primary plates not visible. Disc spines or granules of one type, cylindrical or dome-shaped. The spines are up to 0.05–0.2 mm long, and 0.8–1.2 times high as wide; densely distributed.

The ventral interradial surface is with skin. The oral shields are exposed, circular or triangular or pentagonal, wider than long or as long as wide. The adoral shields are covered in granules. Bursal slits extend from the oral shield to the disc margin, not bordered by spines or papillae. The jaw is wider than long, with one or two, rounded apical papilla (rippled distal edge), as wide as long. Oral papillae are present along each jaw angle in a series, rounded or quadrangular. The oral tentacle pore is located inside the jaw, with distal oral papilla enlarged, and quadrangular.

The specimen has five arms, unbranched, moniliform, 4–6 times d.d. Dorsal arm plates, contiguous, with spines/granules, clustered on the basal dorsal arm plates; quadrangular, and 0.3–0.4 times long as wide. The second ventral arm plates are contiguous with the third plate, fan-shaped, and 0.55–0.75 times long as wide. Ventral arm plates of the first free segments contiguous, fan-shaped or hexagonal, and 0.6–0.75 times long as wide. Tentacle pores along the arm, with one scale, covering the pore, oval. There are 0–2 arm spines on the first ventral segment, 4–5 on the first free segments. The spines are adpressed to arm, extending laterally, subequal, and 0.25–0.75 times as long as one arm segment, blunt, flattened.

Description exported from Delta key and to be finalised when DNA sampling completed. Note species description and image characters may vary slightly in animals of different size within the same species.

Cite this publication as: "T O'Hara (2010). ‘Ophiuroids from deep sea southern Australia. Museum Victoria. Version: 1.0 http://www.museumvictoria.com.au/stars"
Information updated 5 February 2010

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