Ophiozonella Matsumoto, 1915

Okanishi, Masanori & Fujita, Yoshihisa, 2018, First finding of anchialine and submarine cave dwelling brittle stars from the Pacific Ocean, with descriptions of new species of Ophiolepis and Ophiozonella (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea: Amphilepidida), Zootaxa 4377 (1), pp. 1-20 : 11

Ophiozonella Matsumoto, 1915 sensu stricto

Diagnosis. Arms 5 in number, not branching; disc covered by scales of uniform size; lacking arm combs; 2nd tentacle pore opening inside of oral slits; No supplementary plates lateral to each dorsal arm plate; 3 arm spines.

Remarks. The genus Ophiozonella s. str. can be distinguished from the related genus Ophiolepis by the absence of supplementary small plates on the lateral side of the dorsal arm plates, and by having disc scales of uniform size on the aboral side.

Most species of Ophiozonella s. a. have been reported from depths in excess of 100 m (e.g. Stöhr 2011). In Japan, Ophiozonalle bispinosa ( Koehler, 1897), O. longispina , O. oedilepis ( Murakami, 1942) , O. platydisca ( H. L. Clark, 1911) , O. polyplex ( H. L. Clark, 1911) and O. projecta ( Koehler, 1905) have been recorded from> 80 m depth (Okanishi 2016). In this study, Ophiozonella cavernalis n. sp. is recorded at the shallowest depth (12 m), which extends the shallowest record of Japanese Ophiozonella s. a.