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 More images | Distribution map | F 52721, 52724. Family - Ophiacanthidae. |
Description The disc is flat, 6 mm diameter. The radial shields are covered or narrow, straight-sided or triangular with rounded corners, separated and parallel to one another, with 6–10 plates between them; 7–12 times long as wide, and length 0.4 times d.d. The dorsal surface is covered by plates, bearing spines/granules, obscured by skin, with a visible diameter of 0.05–0.2 mm, overlapping; primary plates not visible. Disc spines or granules of one type, dome-shaped, with thorns all over (some more like ridges than thorns). The spines are up to 0.05–0.1 mm long, and 0.9–1.1 times high as wide; sparsely distributed. The ventral interradial surface is plated or with skin-covered plates. The oral shields are exposed, fan shaped, wider than long. The adoral shields are exposed, extending to lateral edge of oral shield, separated radially, meeting interradially. Bursal slits reduced, not bordered by spines or papillae. The jaw is as wide as long, with one, pointed or tapering apical papilla, longer than wide. Oral papillae separated by a gap from apical papillae, pointed. The oral tentacle pore is located inside the jaw, with distal oral papilla enlarged, and rounded or quadrangular. The specimen has five arms, unbranched, moniliform, 6–8 times d.d. Dorsal arm plates, contiguous or separated, without spines/granules; fan-shaped, and 0.9–1.4 times long as wide. The second ventral arm plates are separated from the third plate, rounded or fan-shaped, and 0.45–0.55 times long as wide. Ventral arm plates of the first free segments separated, oval or quadrangular, and 0.4–0.5 times long as wide. Tentacle pores along the arm, with one scale, not covering the pore, oval (longer than wide). There are 4–5 arm spines on the first ventral segment, 8–9 on the first free segments. The spines are erect, extending around to the dorsal surface, longest dorsally, and 2–4 times as long as one arm segment, pointed, cylindrical. There are thorns, hapazardly on the spine surface, all along the spine, glassy transparent 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 |