Fig. 3 A, B
West African records. Amphiodia ascia: Mortensen 1936: 290; Longhurst 1958: 99. Amphiura filiformis: Cherbonnier 1962: 9; 1963: 182; Tommasi 1967: 532; Madsen 1970: 179.
Material examined. St. 102: dredge sampling, 7 ° 51.948´S, 12 ° 58.452´E; 10 specimens, 3–4 mm. St. 5 B: grab sampling, 13 ° 56.022´S, 12 ° 22.110´E; 23 specimens, 1.5–5 mm. St. BE 10: grab sampling, 15 °00.048´S, 12 °07.686´E; 3 specimens, 2.5–5 mm. Depth: 58– 125 m.
Diagnosis. Distally there are two lateral oral papillae on each adoral shield, a long spine-like one and a small rounded scale-like papilla. They are widely separated from the apical pair of infradental papillae. The disc scales (ventral and marginal) are smooth. Tentacle scales are absent. Typically the second ventralmost arm spine in the area outside the disc is axe-shaped.
Distribution. This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic from Iceland to Angola at depths of 5 to 1200 m.