28 



BULLETIN 75, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Localities. Albatross station 4967, off Shio Misaki Light, Japan, 

 lat. 33 25' 10" N.; long. 135 37' 20" E., 244 to 253 fathoms, brown 

 mud, sand, foraminifera, bottom temperature 45.9, 1 specimen; sta- 

 tion 4968, off Shio Misaki Light, Japan, lat. 33 24' 50" N. ; long. 135 

 38' 40" E., 253 fathoms, dark gray sand, brown mud, broken shells, 

 bottom temperature 45.7, 2 specimens. Bathymetrical range, 244 to 

 253 fathoms. Temperature range, 45.9 to 45.7. Three specimens. 

 Type. Cut. No. 25531, U.S.N.M., from station 4967. 

 Although there is no doubt that this species is a true Ophioconis, as 

 comparison with both miliaria Lyman and antarctica Lyman has 

 satisfied me, it has raised serious doubt in my mind as to the relation- 

 ships of the genus. 

 Both Liitken and Ly- 

 man regarded Ophio- 

 conis as allied to Pec- 

 tinura and the other 

 Ophiodermatidae, but 

 I am unable to find 

 even one constant 

 character to distin- 

 guish the genus from 

 Ophiacantha in the 

 old, broad sense. Un- 

 fortunately neither 

 of the Mediterranean 

 species of Ophioconis 

 is at all common, and 

 I have never seen 

 specimens of either, 

 so that I am unable 

 to reach any definite 

 conclusions, but I 

 shall not be surprised if some of the species now placed in Ophioconis, 

 really belong in the Ophiacanthidae, while others are perhaps properly 

 placed in the Ophiodermatidse. The present species, like miliaria and 

 antarctica, has hollow arm spines, certainly a very remarkable char- 

 acter for one of the Ophiodermatidse. From all other species of 

 Ophioconis, diastata is distinguished by its few arm spines, widely 

 separated under arm plates, single tentacle scale, and very fine disk 

 granulation, a combination of characters shown by none of the others. 



OPHIOCONIS PAPILLATA, new species.a 



Disk 8 mm. in diameter; arms about 43 mm. long. Disk closely 

 covered with rather coarse papilla-like granules about fifty to the 



b 



FIG. 3. OPHIOCONIS DIASTATA. X6. a, FROM ABOVE; 6, FKOM BE- 

 LOW; C, SIDE VIEW OF THREE ABM JOINTS NEAR DISK. 



a Papillatus, signifying shaped like a bud, in reference to the papilla-like granules 

 on the disk. 



