This long spiny-armed brittle star is named Ophiocamax gigas Koehler, 1900, and was collected from 700 m deep on the Admiralty Seamount, just north of the Ross Sea, Antarctica in 2008. This species belongs to the Ophiacanthidae family, which are characterized by their spiny disc plates and arms. ‘Acantha’ means thorn in greek, hence the choice of family name. There are 12 current species in the family, with the gigas species occurring exclusively around Antarctica, south of the Antarctic Convergence from 675-1954 m.