Ophiomyces grandis

F 89876.

Family - Ophiacanthidae.

Description

The disc is tumid, 4 mm diameter. The radial shields are covered. The dorsal surface is covered by plates, bearing spines/granules, with a visible diameter of 0.1–0.5 mm, overlapping; primary plates not visible. Disc spines or granules of one type, cylindrical and pointed, and glassy transparent shaft, with thorns all over. The spines are up to 0.3–0.8 mm long, and 5–7 times high as wide; sparsely distributed.

The ventral interradial surface is plated. The oral shields are covered in granules (covered by spines). The adoral shields are covered in granules (covered by spines). Bursal slits absent. The jaw is longer than wide or as wide as long, with one, pointed or tapering apical papilla, longer than wide. Oral papillae are present along each jaw angle in a series or separated by a gap from apical papillae, pointed. The oral tentacle pore is located inside the jaw, with distal oral papilla enlarged, and triangular.

The specimen has five arms, unbranched, moniliform, 3–4 times d.d. Dorsal arm plates, separated, without spines/granules; diamond, and 0.4–0.6 times long as wide. Tentacle pores along the arm, with one scale or two scales, not covering the pore, leaf-shaped. 8–9 on the first free segments. The spines are erect, extending around to the dorsal surface, longest ventrally, and 0.5–1 times as long as one arm segment, pointed, cylindrical. There are thorns, hapazardly on the spine surface, all along the spine, 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"
Information updated 5 February 2010

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