Ophiomusa lymani (Wyville Thomson, 1873)

Figs 13A–G, 14

Ophiomusium lymani Wyville Thomson, 1873: 174–175, fig. 33.

Ophiomusium lymani – Koehler 1904: 58; 1922b: 411, pl. 86 figs 5, 7–9. — H.L. Clark 1911: 107–108; 1923: 364. — Matsumoto 1915: 289. — Olbers et al. 2019: 72–74 fig. 51.

Ophiomusa lymani – Hertz 1927: 103–105.

Material examined

CHINA • 1 spec.; South China Sea, E of Hainan Island, seamount; 18°24.45′ N, 114°52.09′ E; depth 1911 m; 12 Mar. 2020; collection event: stn SC005; MSV Shenhaiyongshi leg.; preserved in -80°C; GenBank: MZ 198762; IDSSE EEB-SW0008 • 1 spec.; South China Sea, SE of Hainan Island, seamount; 17°39.60′ N, 110°36.42′ E; depth 917 m; 1 Sep. 2017; collection event: stn SC015; MSV Shenhaiyongshi leg.; preserved in -80°C; GenBank: MZ 198763; IDSSE EEB-SW0009 • 1 spec.; South China Sea, SE of Hainan Island, seamount; 17°06.00′ N, 110°58.20′ E; depth 1500 m; 23 Mar. 2018; collection event: stn SC017; MSV Shenhaiyongshi leg.; IDSSE EEB-SW0034 .

Remarks

We recorded three specimens from the South China Sea at 917 m to 1911 m depth. Disc diameter ranges from 17 to 20 mm. The specimens are similar to the holotype description by Wyville Thomson (1873) and to the first description from the South China Sea in Liao (2004) (Fig. 13A–G). The arm spine articulations are placed at the distal edge of the lateral arm plate (Fig. 14A–D). The vertebrae have a long zygospondylous articulation, a short, moderately large podial basin at the proximal end, and are small and narrow at the distal end. The dorsal end of the vertebrae is distally triangular and proximally flattened, with a long longitudinal groove along the midline, without furrow (Fig. 14E–H). The ventral end of the vertebrae has a broad midline longitudinal groove without an oral bridge (Fig. 14G). Ophiomusa lymani has been recorded from deep waters in both the East and South China Seas.

Distribution

130–4829 m depth. East China Sea, South China Sea, Arabian Sea, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, Atlantic Ocean and South Africa (Olbers et al. 2019; OBIS 2021).