Ophiomusium eburneum Lyman, 1869

Baker, Alan N., 2016, An illustrated catalogue of type specimens of the bathyal brittlestar genera Ophiomusium Lyman and Ophiosphalma H. L. Clark (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea), Zootaxa 4097 (1), pp. 1-40 : 8

Ophiomusium eburneum Lyman, 1869 .

Figures 9 a, b, c

Ophiomusium eburneum Lyman, 1869 ; Borges & Amaral, 2007.

Material examined: 1 specimen, MCZ 443, Blake expedition, off Havana, 320m; 1 specimen BMNH 92-2-22-13, off Havana.

Main Features: Despite this being the type species for the genus, Lyman did not designate a numbered holotype. However, his very detailed description refers mainly to a specimen with a 9 mm diameter disc with 25 mm arms, taken off Sand Key, Florida, in 270–325 fathoms. In 1980 I could not locate this specimen in the MCZ collections. However since then, a labelled holotype from the type locality has been found ( MCZ 444). Another specimen identified by Lyman from the Blake Expedition ( MCZ 443) ( Lyman 1878), was incorrectly referred to by Downey (1969) as the holotype. Figure 9 is MCZ 443. This specimen has remarkable saw- tooth-edged jaws. The disc is covered by many small very finely tuberculate scales and large separated radial shields. There are lumpy plates around the arm bases, and the small oral shields are surrounded by many finely tuberculated scales. There are 2 pairs of exposed tentacle pores on the first 2 ventral arms plates, and 3 small, short arm spines in this specimen.