The Gnathophiurina are a group of
Ophiuroidea
Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomot ...
mostly treated as
suborder (but at first as an order Gnathophiurida, and sometimes as
infraorder
Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...
of
Ophiurina
Ophiurina are a suborder of brittle stars containing the majority of living brittle star species.
Systematics
There is currently no consensus as to the subdivision of the Ophiurina (traditionally, the infraorders have been treated as suborders). ...
[Smith, A.B.; Paterson, G.L.J. . Ophiuroid phylogeny and higher taxonomy: morphological, molecular and palaeontological perspectives. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 114 (1995)] or not used at all).
Families
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Amphilepididae Matsumoto, 1915
*
Amphiuridae Ljungman, 1867
*
Ophiactidae
Ophiactidae are a family of brittle stars.
Genera
The following genera are recognised by the World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and compr ...
Matsumoto, 1915
*
Ophiocomidae
Ophiocomidae are a family of brittle stars of the suborder Ophiurina.
Systematics and phylogeny
Ophiocomidae has been placed (along with Ophionereididae) to the superfamily Ophiocomidea and infraorder
Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eigh ...
Ljungman, 1867
*
Ophionereididae
Ophionereididae are a family of brittle stars.
Systematics
Ophionereididae has been placed (along with Ophiocomidae) to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Ophiocomidea and infraorder Chilophiurina or suborder Chilophiurina in different classificati ...
Ljungman, 1867
*
Ophiothricidae
Ophiotrichidae are a family of ophiurid brittle stars within the suborder Gnathophiurina.
All have arms with delicate translucent, thorny spines. The arms are flexible in all directions. The jaws contain clusters of well-developed tooth papillae ...
Ljungman, 1867
References
Ophiurida
{{ophiuroidea-stub