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More images | Distribution map | F 93065. Family - Ophiacanthidae. |
Description The disc is flat, 6 mm diameter. The radial shields are covered. The dorsal surface is covered by plates, bearing spines/granules, obscured by skin, with a visible diameter of 0.35–0.85 mm, overlapping or touching; primary plates not visible. Disc spines or granules of one type, cylindrical, with thorns all over. The spines are up to 0.2–0.4 mm long, and 0.75–2 times high as wide; sparsely distributed. The ventral interradial surface is plated. The oral shields are exposed, teardrop or diamond (diamond concaved proximal edges), wider than long. The adoral shields are exposed, extending to lateral edge of oral shield, separated radially, meeting interradially. Bursal slits absent. The jaw is as wide as long or wider than long, with one, rounded apical papilla, longer than wide, with thorns. Oral papillae are present along each jaw angle in a series, pointed or rounded, thorned. The oral tentacle pore is located inside the jaw, with distal oral papilla similar to other oral papillae. The specimen has five arms, unbranched, moniliform, 4–6 times d.d. Dorsal arm plates, separated, without spines/granules; diamond or fan-shaped, and 0.7–0.8 times long as wide. The second ventral arm plates are separated from the third plate, trapezoid, and 0.8–1.1 times long as wide. Ventral arm plates of the first free segments separated, oval or hexagonal, and 0.8–1.2 times long as wide. Tentacle pores along the arm, with one scale, covering the pore, pointed or oval. There are 2–3 arm spines on the first ventral segment, 6–7 on the first free segments. The spines are erect, extending around to the dorsal surface, subequal or longest dorsally, and 1–4 times as long as one arm segment, pointed or blunt, cylindrical. There are thorns, in longitudinal series on the surface from the base to the tip of the spine or hapazardly on the spine surface, all along the spine, glassy transparent shaft or glassy rough shaft.
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" MUSEUMVICTORIA |