Ophiura ophiura
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Ophiura ophiura Serpent star |
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| Arm partly regenerated | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Ophiuroidea |
| Order: | Ophiurida |
| Family: | Ophiuridae |
| Genus: | Ophiura |
| Species: | O. ophiura |
| Binomial name | |
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Ophiura ophiura Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Ophiura ophiura or the serpent star is a species of brittle star in the order Ophiurida. It is typically found on coastal seabeds around northwestern Europe.
O. ophiura has a circular central disc up to 35 mm (1.5 in) wide and five radially arranged, narrow arms each up to 140 mm (6 in) long. The general colour is mottled reddish-brown with a paler underside. Both the top and the underside of the disc are covered with calcareous plates. The arms are joined to the top rather than the edge of the disc and further small, articulating plates allow the arms to bend from side to side. Small spines on the arms lie flat against the surface. Four larger plates occur across the root of each arm with the outer pair having a comb-like edge, with 20 to 30 fine in each. A pair of pores is seen between the underside plates at the root of the arms. Five large mouth-shield plates are on the underside of the disc which surround the central mouth. The teeth are in a vertical row above each of the five jaws and about five mouth papillae are on each side of the jaw.
O. ophiura is found on the sea floor in the northeast Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea from Norway and Sweden south to Madeira and the Mediterranean Sea. It is found below low-tide mark in the neritic zone down about 200 m, on sandy bottoms. It shows a preference for sediments with a fine grain size and about 35% mud content. It is a common species with 20 to 50 individuals occurring per square metre in some years in the North Sea.
O. ophiura is an active brittle star, moving with a jerky swimming action of its legs and sometimes burrowing. It is a filter feeder, feeding on a wide range of food, but also a bottom-feeding carnivore and detritivore. It can regenerate its arms if they are damaged or torn off.
Sexual reproduction takes place during the summer. The larvae are the typical ophiopluteus larvae of brittle stars and later settle on the sea bed and develop into juveniles.
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Wikipedia