Ophiacantha rosea

F 159780.

Family - Ophiacanthidae.

Description

The disc is flat, 10 mm diameter. The radial shields are covered. The dorsal surface is covered by plates, bearing spines/granules, with a visible diameter of 0.5–2 mm, overlapping; primary plates not visible. Disc spines or granules of one type, cylindrical or conical, with multiple, more than 3, terminal points/thorns, with thorns all over. The spines are up to 0.5–1.5 mm long, and 2–4 times high as wide; densely distributed.

The ventral interradial surface is plated. The oral shields are exposed, teardrop, wider than long. The adoral shields are exposed, extending to lateral edge of oral shield, separated radially, meeting interradially. Bursal slits extend from the oral shield to the disc margin, 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 similar to other oral papillae or enlarged, and rounded.

The specimen has five arms, unbranched, moniliform, 4–6 times d.d. Dorsal arm plates, separated, with spines/granules, clustered on the basal dorsal arm plates; fan-shaped, and 0.65–0.75 times long as wide. The second ventral arm plates are contiguous with the third plate, fan-shaped, notched or concave laterally, and 0.7–0.8 times long as wide. Ventral arm plates of the first free segments contiguous, oval, and 1–1.3 times long as wide. Tentacle pores along the arm, with one scale, covering the pore, pointed or oval. There are 3–5 arm spines on the first ventral segment, 8 on the first free segments. The spines are erect, extending around to the dorsal surface, longest in middle, and 4–6 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, all along the spine or on the tip (2 or 3 thorns also on the spine tips), 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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