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Family: Amphiuridae
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Bocas Species Database Habitat: Unvegetated sand or mud, seagrass beds, channels in mangrove cays, and reef-associated sand plains. Distribution: Caribbean Natural History Notes: This burrowing species deposit feeds from deep within the mud by slowly moving its arm tips across the surface of sediment. Some individuals are associated with the scaleworm Malmgreniella puntotorensis Pettibone. Depth: 1-160 m Characteristics: This species is relatively large, growing to 10 mm in disk diameter with arms 250 mm long. Arms range in length from 13 to over 24 times the disk diameter. It can be distinguished from A. planispina by its middle arm spine, which is compressed dorsoventrally as opposed to laterally. The disk is mottled with tan and brown scales. Each dorsal arm plate has a band of dark tan abuting a white line on the plate's distal edge; series of darker and lighter joints confer a banded pattern on the arm. |