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More images | Distribution map | F 159781. Family - Ophiacanthidae. |
Description The disc is flat, 9 mm diameter. The radial shields are covered. The dorsal surface is covered by plates, bearing spines/granules, with a visible diameter of 0.25–0.65 mm, overlapping; primary plates not visible. Disc spines or granules of one type, cylindrical or conical, and glassy transparent shaft, with thorns all over (often bifid). The spines are up to 0.2–1.1 mm long, and 5–9 times high as wide; restricted to regions of the disc (outer margin). The ventral interradial surface is plated. The oral shields are covered in granules or exposed, fan shaped or diamond, wider than long. The adoral shields are exposed, extending to lateral edge of oral shield, separated radially, separated 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, pointed or tapering apical papilla or rounded apical papilla, longer than wide. Oral papillae separated by a gap from apical papillae, rounded, thorned (on some). The oral tentacle pore is located inside the jaw (out), with distal oral papilla enlarged, and rounded. The specimen has five arms, unbranched, moniliform, 7–9 times d.d. Dorsal arm plates, separated, with spines/granules, clustered on the basal dorsal arm plates; fan-shaped, and 0.65–0.8 times long as wide. The second ventral arm plates are contiguous with the third plate, fan-shaped, and 0.7–0.8 times long as wide. Ventral arm plates of the first free segments separated, fan-shaped, and 1.2–1.5 times long as wide. Tentacle pores along the arm, with one scale (sometimes 2 on first segment), covering the pore, quadrangular (as long as segment plate and approaching a square with rounded corners). There are 3–4 arm spines on the first ventral segment, 6–7 on the first free segments. The spines are erect, extending around to the dorsal surface, longest dorsally, and 3–5 times as long as one arm segment, blunt (some 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 |