Ophioscolecida
Ophioscolecida is an order of echinoderms belonging to the class Ophiuroidea. Families: * Ophiohelidae Ophiohelidae is a family of echinoderms belonging to the order Ophioscolecida. Genera: * '' Ophiohelus'' Lyman, 1880 * '' Ophiomyces'' Lyman, 1869 * '' Ophiothauma'' Clark, 1938 * '' Ophiotholia'' Lyman, 1880 References Ophioscolecida Ec ... * Ophioscolecidae References Ophiuroidea Echinoderm orders {{ophiuroidea-stub ...
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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 locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long, slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to in length on the largest specimens. The Ophiuroidea contain two large clades, Ophiurida (brittle stars) and Euryalida (basket stars). Over 2,000 species of brittle stars live today. More than 1,200 of these species are found in deep waters, greater than 200 m deep. Range The ophiuroids diverged in the Early Ordovician, about 500 million years ago. Ophiuroids can be found today in all of the major marine provinces, from the poles to the tropics. Basket stars are usually confined to the deeper parts of this range; Ophiuroids are known even from abyssal (>6,000 m) depths. However, brittle stars are also common members of reef communities, where ...
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