Abstract
IN papers recently published by Dr. T. Mortensen (Vidensk. Medd. Dansk. naturh. Foren., vols. 93 and 96) are some remarkable additions to our knowledge of ophiurids. Perhaps the most interesting is the account of a new genus, apparently of Amphiuridse, in which the female carries the male about with her in “a continuous erotic embrace”. The male, the body of which has a diameter of about 1 mm. (one-fifth that of the female body) lives with his mouth turned towards the mouth of the female and his arms alternating with hers. This brittle-star, which Dr. Mortensen names Amphilycus androphorus, was found by him attached to the under side of the flat sea-urchin Echinodiscus bisperforatus on a sandy beach in Delagoa Bay.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Biology of Brittle-Stars. Nature 132, 826–827 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/132826b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/132826b0