Ophiohamus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ophiohamus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Ophiuroidea |
| Order: | Ophiurida |
| Family: | Ophiacanthidae |
| Genus: | Ophiohamus O'Hara & Stöhr, 2006[1] |
| Type species | |
| Ophiohamus nanus O'Hara & Stöhr, 2006 | |
Ophiohamus is a genus of brittle stars in the family Ophiacanthidae from New Caledonia.[2] Timothy D. O'Hara and Sabine Stöhr circumscribed and named the genus in 2006; they described the type species Ophiohamus nanus in the same work.[1] A second species, Ophiohamus georgemartini, was described by O'Hara and Caroline Harding in 2015.[3] As of 2018[update], those are the only two species recognized in this genus.[2]
The genus is distinguished from other closely related genera such as Ophiomitrella and Ophiurothamnus by a combination of the following characteristics:[3]
- discs with coarse, overlapping disc plates integrated with large, contiguous radial shields, sometimes with spines;
- interradial incision shallow, the distal two with widened outer papillae;
- small oral and adoral shields, the former distal to the latter and contiguous with the lateral arm plate;
- arms curving but not coiling;
- 3–4 short arm spines, restricted laterally to the arm;
- arm spines up to or just exceeding a segment in length;
- lowest arm spine semi-hooked;
- jaw slit enclosing oral tentacles; and
- simple tentacle scale covering small tentacle pore.
