Ophiactis plana Lyman, 1869

Glück, Franziska U., Stöhr, Sabine, Bochert, Ralf & Zettler, Michael L., 2012, Brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from the continental shelf off Angola and Namibia, Zootaxa 3475, pp. 1-20 : 10

Ophiactis plana Lyman, 1869

Fig. 4A, B

West African records. Alva & Vadon 1989: 839. This species is common in South Africa and rare in South–West Africa. Alva and Vadon collected only five specimens at 26°S (southern Namibia).

Material examined. St. 88: dredge sampling, 7°14.088´S, 12°41.010´E; 1 specimen, 2 mm. Depth: 41 m. This species appeared just once and was the only individual at this station.

Diagnosis. Ophiactis plana is easily distinguished from Ophiactis luetkeni by the presence of six arms and the complete covering of the dorsal side of the disc with fan-shaped scales. The remaining characters are similar to Ophiactis luetkeni (see above).

Distribution. This sublittoral species (Mortensen 1933a) may be restricted to the Atlantic Ocean or distributed worldwide at depths down to 412 m, depending on the taxonomic status of this and several similar species. It has never been found as far north off West Africa as described here, but was described from the Caribbean.

Figures

FIGURE 4. A, B, Ophiactis plana; A, dorsal aspect; B, ventral aspect. C, D, Ophiopsila annulosa; C, dorsal aspect; D, ventral aspect. E, F, Ophiopsila guineensis; E, dorsal aspect; F, ventral aspect. Scale bars 1 mm.