Gorgonocephalidae is a family of

basket star The Euryalina are a suborder of brittle stars, which includes large species with either branching arms (called "basket stars") or long and curling arms (called "snake stars"). It is sometimes listed as the order Euryalida. Characteristics Many ...

s. They have characteristic many-branched arms. Basket star feeding at night at the Red Sea

Gorgonocephalidae are the largest ophiuroids ('' Gorgonocephalus eucnemis'' can measure up to 70 cm in arm length with a disk diameter of 14 cm).

Systematics and phylogeny

The family is divided into the following genera: Fossil record of Gorgonocephalidae dates back to

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

.Kroh, A. 2003. First record of gorgonocephalid ophiuroids (Echinodermata) from the Middle Miocene of the Central Paratethys. Cainozoic Research 2: 143-155

References

Echinoderm families Phrynophiurida Taxa described in 1867 {{Ophiuroidea-stub