Ophiactis abyssicola ( M. Sars, 1861 )

Rodrigues, Clara F., Paterson, Gordon L. J., Cabrinovic, Andrew & Cunha, Marina R., 2011, Deep-sea ophiuroids (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea: Ophiurida) from the Gulf of Cadiz (NE Atlantic), Zootaxa 2754, pp. 1-26 : 11

Ophiactis abyssicola ( M. Sars, 1861)

( Fig. 6 )

Material examined. Captain Arutyunov MV, MSM01-03, stn 195, 3 inds. ( DBUA 001064.01).

Ecology and distribution. This is an Atlantic species known from a wide bathymetric range (125–4721 m) from Norway to southern Africa ( Paterson 1985). In the Gulf of Cadiz it was collected from a coral thicket ( Dendrophylia cf. alternata , mostly dead branches with a few living polyps) in a single station at the flanks of Captain Arutyunov MV (1390 m) together with Ophiopristis gadensis sp. nov., Ophiacantha aristata and Amphioplus hexabrachiatus .

Figures

FIGURE 6: Ophiactis abyssicola. A: ventral aspect; B: oral plates with papillae detail; C: arm dorsally; D: arm ventrally.