OPHIURANS OF THE PHILIPPINE AND ADJACENT WATERS. 129 



line, but it differs from it in the slightly moniliform arms, in the 

 large upper arm plates, which are only slightly separated from each 

 other at the base of the arms, and in the very large and contiguous 

 radial shields. 0. suspectus conversely approaches the genus 

 Ophiophthalmus in its numerous and elongated arm spines, in the 

 large radial shields of which the size is much greater than that of 

 the other plates of the dorsal surface of the disk, which are very 

 small, the two shields of each pair being in contact throughout 

 almost their whole length, and in the large upper arm plates. But 

 our ophiuran differs from the other species of this genus by the 

 character of these same upper arm plates, which are not in contact 

 on the first arm segments, and in the very closely crowded spines on 

 either side of the median dorsal-line of the arm. 



I have thought it necessary, however, to assign it to the genus 

 Ophiophthalmus, with which it certainly has more affinities than 

 with the genus Ophiomitrella. It recalls especially one of the spe- 

 cies assigned by Matsumoto to the first genus — O. graniferus {Ophio- 

 mitra grand f era Liitken and Mortensen) ; however, it differs from it 

 in its much longer, thicker, and almost smooth spines, the two lateral 

 series coming closer together in the median dorsal line, in the thick 

 adoral plates, in the broadly triangular upper arm plates with sharp 

 angles, by the somewhat longer under arm plates, in the absence of 

 granules on the free border of the radial shields, as well as on the 

 distal border of the two first upper arm plates, and in having the 

 radial shields in contact throughout almost their whole length. 



There is a certain resemblance, purely superficial, however, between 

 O. suspectus and the new Ophiomitra which I have described below 

 under the name of Ophiomitra dives, but there should be no confusion 

 here, for in this latter species the arm spines are hollow, the ventral 

 surface of the arms is incompletely calcified, the mouth shields are 

 large and especially extremely broad, the mouth papillae are less 

 numerous, and the tentacle scale is larger, and there is only a single 

 papilla at the extremity of the jaws. 



OPHIOMELINA, new genus. 



Description. — Ophiacanthidae near the genera Ophiomitrella Ver- 

 rill and Ophiophthalmus Matsumoto, from which it differs in the 

 greatly developed and elongated adoral plates, sending off a distal 

 lobe which separates the mouth shield from the first under arm 

 plate. As in the genus Ophiophthalmus, the disk is covered with ir- 

 regular, more or less imbricated plates, provided with club spines or 

 with rugose granules. The radial shields are small and widely sepa- 

 rated. The mouth papillae are three or four in number. The upper 

 arm plates, which are very large, cover a large part of the dorsal 

 surface of the arms, and are very close together or contiguous on the 



55269— 22— Bui. 100 9 



