OPHIOLEPIDAE 



341 



St. 45. 6. iv. 26. 27 miles S 85° E of Jason Light, South Georgia, 238-270 m. i specimen. 



St. 126. 19. xii. 26. 53" 58' S, 37" 08' W, South Georgia, 100 (-0) m. i specimen. 



St. 140. 23. xii. 26. Stromness Harbour to Larsen Point, South Georgia, 122-136 m. 1 specimen 



(young). 



St. 156. 20. i. 27. 53° 51' S, 36° 21' W, South Georgia, 200-236 m. 8 specimens (young). 



St. 363. 26. ii. 30. 2-5 miles S 80° E of SE point of Zavodovski Island, South Sandwich Islands, 

 329-278 m. I specimen. 



St. WS 33. 21. xii. 26. 54° 59' S, 35° 24' W, South Georgia, 130 m. 2 specimens. 



Although G. A. Smith in describing this species omitted to give a figure of the oral 

 side, I can have no doubt that the present specimens belong to that species, the more so 

 as they come from the type locality, off South Georgia. One point alone would seem to 

 be in contradiction to the description given by Smith, viz. the mouth shields, which are 

 stated by Smith to be very large, occupying the whole of the interbrachial area on the 



Fig. 50. Amphiophiura Rowetti, G. A. Smith. Part of oral side (a) and dorsal side (b); 



part of arm in side view (c). X 15. 



ventral surface. The figure of the oral side given here is not in accordance with this 

 statement ; it shows the buccal shields rather small, occupying only the proximal half of 

 the ventral interradius. There is, however, much variation in this respect, some of the 

 other specimens having the buccal shields relatively larger, so as to cover more or less 

 completely the whole ventral interradius ; this depends to a great extent on the state of 

 contraction of the interradius of the specimen (due to food content or the sexual state at 

 the time of capture — and also, of course, to age, the younger specimens having these 

 plates relatively larger). There is no possibility of distinguishing more than one species 

 from the character of the mouth shields. 



It may be mentioned that none of the spines in the distal part of the arms are trans- 

 formed into hooks, such as are described by Hertz (Deutsche Tiefsee-Exped., Ophiu- 

 roiden, pp. 77-9) for A. concava, Hertz, and A. trifoUiim, Hertz. 



The specimen from St. 363 (South Sandwich Islands) must, I think, likewise be 

 referred to this species, in spite of the fact that the dorsal arm-plates are somewhat more 



