Ophiolepis impressa Lütken 1859

Known from seamounts and knolls

Disk circular to pentagonal (dd = 4.26 to 9.82 mm). Covered by large, imbricating scales, surrounded by smaller scales of different sizes and irregular shapes (Fig. 3a). Primary plates conspicuous, central primary plate rounded. Interradius with three rows of large scales. Radial shields triangular, separated distally by three large scales disposed in a triangle, and proximally by a large scale (Fig. 3a). Ventral interradius covered by imbricating scales, slightly smaller and narrower than dorsal scales (Fig. 3b). Bursal slits long and narrow. Oral shields pentagonal, elongate, distal margin convex. Adoral shields broad, enlarged laterally and contiguous along internal median line of jaw. Four to five oral papillae on each side of jaw angle, the three proximal of which are pointed and subequal, the penultimate one is longest and broadest (Fig. 3c). Dorsal arm plate wider than long. Accessory dorsal arm plate reduced and restricted to the first arm segments (Fig. 3f). Ventral arm plate on first segments as large as long, on last segments slightly broader than long, tending to become pentagonal in shape, with lateral margins concave and distal margin rounded (Fig. 3e). Three or four arm spines short and conical, blunt, the two dorsal ones smaller. Tentacle pore large. Two large tentacle scales, the outer one slightly broader than the inner one (Fig. 3e).

Bermuda, the Bahamas, the islands off southern Florida, Texas, the Antilles, Mexican Caribbean, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil (Hendler et al. 1995, Laguarda-Figueras et al. 2004, Durán-Gonzáles et al. 2005, Alvarado et al. 2008, Borrero-Pérez et al. 2008, Hernández-Herrejón et al. 2008). In Brazil from Alagoas (Miranda et al. 2012), and Bahia (Tommasi 1970, Magalhães et al. 2005). Intertidal to 24 m in deph. In this study they were found for the first time in the State of Paraíba, between 10 and 33m.