Habitat.—Equatorial Atlantic, Station 347, depth 2250 fathoms.
Genus 448. Dorcadospyris,[[66]] Haeckel, 1881, Prodromus, p. 441.
Definition.—Zygospyrida with two free lateral feet armed with a series of secondary spines. Apex with a horn.
The genus Dorcadospyris and the closely allied Stephanospyris differ from the other Dipospyrida in the development of a series of secondary spines on the convex outer margin of the two large curved lateral feet, which therefore appear semipinnate. In some species this peculiar armature attains an extraordinary size, whilst the shell itself is very small, as in Dorcadospyris dinoceras (Pl. [85], fig. 4).
1. Dorcadospyris dentata, n. sp. (Pl. [85], fig. 6).
Shell subspherical, tuberculate with small regular circular pores. Basal plate with four larger pores. Apical horn three to four times as long as the shell, slender conical, smooth. Feet more or less convexly curved towards one another; the distal ends not crossed. In the convex edge of each arm a series of five to ten smooth conical teeth, not longer than the shell. This common species is very variable and often asymmetrical; the figured specimen is an asymmetrical one, in which the two arms exhibit different curves; in the normal form both arms have the same curve, now more, now less convex.
Dimensions.—Shell 0.06 long, 0.08 broad; horn 0.2, feet 0.03 long.
Habitat.—Central Pacific, Stations 267 to 274, depth 2350 to 2925 fathoms.
2. Dorcadospyris antilope, n. sp. (Pl. [85], fig. 5).
Shell subspherical, tuberculate, with small regular circular pores. Basal plate with four larger pores. Apical horn four to six times as long as the shell, straight, cylindrical, smooth. Feet of the same length, crescentic or nearly semicircular, with crossed distal ends. On the convex edge of each foot a series of twelve to fifteen smooth conical teeth, partly longer than the shell. (Very variable in size and curvature of the feet, and number of their teeth.)