New record of the Ophuroid Ophiosphaera insignis Brock, 1888 (Ophiuroidea- Echinodermata) in Vietnamese seawaters.

Abstract

During the survey to collect marine animals in Nha Trang bay in 2012, the sexually dimorphic ophiuroid Ophiosphaera insignis Brock, 1888 (class Ophiuroidea) was first recorded in Vietnamese seawaters. The special characteristic of this species was the male much smaller than the female and living attaching to the mouth of the female. This paper provided a description in details on morphology of the species (both male and female) with the adaptation for their unusual life style, some other animals with sexual dimorphism were also mentioned. The specimens were reserved at Museum of Oceanography.