diff --git a/src/special.cpp b/src/special.cpp
index 6b969e0006..420a8388ab 100644
--- a/src/special.cpp
+++ b/src/special.cpp
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ void Special::build()
   // extract count from buffer that has cycled back to me
   // nspecial[i][1] = # of 1-3 neighbors of atom i
 
-<  j = 0;
+  j = 0;
   for (i = 0; i < nlocal; i++) {
     nspecial[i][1] = buf[j];
     j += 2 + nspecial[i][0];