Ophiambix epicopus Paterson & Baker, 1988

Okanishi, Masanori, Kato, Moe, Watanabe, Hiromi Kayama, Chen, Chong & Fujita, Toshihiko, 2020, Large populations of two new species of Ophiambix (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) discovered on Japanese hot vents and cold seeps, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 68, pp. 196-213 : 197

Ophiambix epicopus Paterson & Baker, 1988

(New Japanese name: Sharin-kaede-kumohitode)

Ophiambix epicopus Paterson & Baker, 1988: 1589–1590 , figs. 2a–d, h, i, 3g–i, 4.

Material examined. NSMT E-13035, 1 specimen, ethanol, collected with beam trawl by the T /S TOYOSHIO MARU, To-03, St. 11, north of Kuroshima Island , Kerama Island Group , Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, southwest of Japan, 26°19.18′N, 127°25.56′E, 596–606 m, 24 May 2003 ( Fig. 1 ) .

Distribution. Japan: north of Kuroshima Island, Kerama Islands (present study); New Zealand: northwest of Napier Island, Kermadec Islands ( Paterson & Baker, 1988). Depth range 530– 606 m. This is a new record of the present species from Japanese waters.

Figures

Fig. 1. A, known distribution of Ophiambix aculeatus, O. devaneyi, O. epicopus, O. kagutsuchi, new species, O. macrodonta, new species, and O. meteoris; B, enlarged area, sampling localities of examined specimens of Ophiambix aculeatus, O. epicopus, O. kagutsuchi, new species, and O. macrodonta, new species, in this study.