Home -> Species index -> Species description
 More images | Distribution map | F 101731, 101736. Family - Ophiochitonidae. |
Description The disc is flat, 7 mm diameter. The radial shields are triangular with rounded corners, separated and parallel to one another, with 3–4 plates between them; 1.5–3 times long as wide, and length 0.12 times d.d. The dorsal surface is covered by plates, bearing spines/granules, with a visible diameter of 0.15–0.45 mm, overlapping; primary plates visible. Disc spines or granules of one type, dome-shaped. The spines are up to 0.01–0.05 mm long, and 0.9–1.1 times high as wide; restricted to regions of the disc (the outer edge). The ventral interradial surface is plated. The oral shields are exposed, arrow head shaped, as long as wide. The adoral shields are exposed, extending to lateral edge of oral shield, separated radially, separated interradially or meeting interradially. 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, pointed or tapering apical papilla or rounded apical papilla, longer than wide. Oral papillae are present along each jaw angle in a series, rounded. The oral tentacle pore is located inside the jaw, with distal oral papilla enlarged, and quadrangular. The specimen has five arms, unbranched, moniliform, 8–10 times d.d. Dorsal arm plates, contiguous, with spines/granules, clustered on the basal dorsal arm plates; oval or fan-shaped, and 0.65–0.8 times long as wide. The second ventral arm plates are contiguous with the third plate, fan-shaped, notched or concave laterally, and 0.65–0.85 times long as wide. Ventral arm plates of the first free segments contiguous, fan-shaped, and 0.6–0.75 times long as wide. Tentacle pores along the arm, with one scale, covering the pore, oval. There are 1–2 arm spines on the first ventral segment, 3 on the first free segments. The spines are erect, extending laterally, subequal, and 1–2 times as long as one arm segment, blunt, cylindrical or 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" MUSEUMVICTORIA |