Ophiotominae

Martynov, Alexander, 2010, Reassessment of the classification of the Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata), based on morphological characters. I. General character evaluation and delineation of the families Ophiomyxidae and Ophiacanthidae 2697, Zootaxa 2697, pp. 1-154 : 44

Ophiotominae in the traditional sense and new results

The taxonomy of the family Ophiacanthidae is one of the most complicated within the Ophiuroidea. Some of the representatives of this large family are apparently similar to the Ophiomyxidae ( Ophiotominae according to Paterson (1985)), whereas others are similar to other distantly-related brittle-star groups. A genus-level revision of the family Ophiacanthidae is a desirable, but a not yet completed task. Therefore, the family Ophiacanthidae appeared to be a good candidate to test the usefulness of the internal and microstructural characters for ophiuroid taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships. Herein, a critical review of the genera included in the ophiacanthid subfamily Ophiotominae is presented. Below are listed in alphabetical order, all the genera of the subfamily Ophiotominae, sensu Paterson (1985) . For each genus, a diagnosis (including both external and internal characters) and a key for identification of species are provided. Type specimens, as far as were available, were used for diagnosis and keys. Appropriate taxonomic remarks were added, where necessary. A general discussion on the genera of the Ophiotominae and their taxonomic re-evaluation according to the newly obtained results will be presented in separate sections.