''Gorgonocephalus'', the Gorgon's heads or Gorgon's head basket stars, is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of marine

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 in the

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

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 ...

. Members of this genus are found in coldwater environments including the Arctic, the Antarctic, and deep-sea habitats. The scientific name comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, ''gorgós'' meaning "dreaded" and ''-cephalus'' meaning "head", and refers to the similarity between these echinoids and the

Gorgon The Gorgons ( ; ), in Greek mythology, are three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, said to be the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They lived near their sisters the Graeae, and were able to turn anyone who looked at them to sto ...

's head from Greek myth with its coiled serpents for hair.GORGONOCEPHALUS!! Because Weird is what we do!
EchinoBlog. Retrieved 2012-01-21.

Description

Members of this genus have a central disc with five arms which repeatedly bifurcate, dichotomously branching into smaller and smaller subdivisions. They have an

endoskeleton An endoskeleton (From Ancient Greek ἔνδον, éndon = "within", "inner" + σκελετός, skeletos = "skeleton") is a structural frame (skeleton) — usually composed of mineralized tissue — on the inside of an animal, overlaid by soft ...

of calcified ossicles as do other ophiuroids, but in their case, it is covered by a fleshy layer of skin, giving them a rubbery appearance. To feed, a basket star perches in an elevated position such as on a

sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...

, and extend its arms in a basket-like fashion. The branches and branchlets twist and coil and may ensnare small crustaceans that come within reach such as the

northern krill Northern krill (''Meganyctiphanes norvegica'') is a species of krill that lives in the North Atlantic Ocean including the Norwegian Sea, North Sea, and parts of the Mediterranean. It is an important component of the zooplankton, providing food fo ...

(''Meganyctiphanes norvegica''). The arms are covered in tiny hooks and spines which hold the

prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...

. Along with the

tube feet Tube or tubes may refer to: * Tube (2003 film), ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM#Tubes, Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a Japanese rock band * Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/e ...

, these convey it to the mouth, which is on the underside of the central disc.

Species

These

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are included in the genus by the World Register of Marine Species: *''

Gorgonocephalus arcticus ''Gorgonocephalus arcticus'' is a species of basket star in the class Ophiuroidea. The genus name comes from the Greek, ''gorgós'' meaning "dreaded" and ''cephalus'' meaning "head", and refers to the similarity between these echinoids and the Go ...

'' Leach, 1819 *''

Gorgonocephalus caputmedusae ''Gorgonocephalus caputmedusae'', also known as a Gorgon's head or Medusa's head is a species of ''Gorgonocephalus'', a genus of brittle star. The species has five main arms, which, however, are divided into a very large number of sub-arms; an in ...

'' (L., 1758) (''Medusa's head'') *''

Gorgonocephalus chilensis ''Gorgonocephalus'', the Gorgon's heads or Gorgon's head basket stars, is a genus of marine basket stars in the class Ophiuroidea. Members of this genus are found in coldwater environments including the Arctic, the Antarctic, and deep-sea habitat ...

'' (Philippi, 1858) *''

Gorgonocephalus diomedeae ''Gorgonocephalus'', the Gorgon's heads or Gorgon's head basket stars, is a genus of marine basket stars in the class Ophiuroidea. Members of this genus are found in coldwater environments including the Arctic, the Antarctic, and deep-sea habitat ...

'' Lütken & Mortensen, 1899 *''

Gorgonocephalus dolichodactylus ''Gorgonocephalus'', the Gorgon's heads or Gorgon's head basket stars, is a genus of marine basket stars in the class Ophiuroidea. Members of this genus are found in coldwater environments including the Arctic, the Antarctic, and deep-sea habitat ...

'' Döderlein, 1911 *''

Gorgonocephalus eucnemis ''Gorgonocephalus eucnemis'' is a species of basket star in the class Ophiuroidea. It is found in circumpolar marine environments in the Northern Hemisphere. The scientific name for the genus comes from the Greek, ''gorgós'' meaning "dreadful" a ...

'' (Müller & Troschel, 1842) *''

Gorgonocephalus lamarckii ''Gorgonocephalus'', the Gorgon's heads or Gorgon's head basket stars, is a genus of marine basket stars in the class Ophiuroidea. Members of this genus are found in coldwater environments including the Arctic, the Antarctic, and deep-sea habitat ...

'' (Müller & Troschel, 1842) *''

Gorgonocephalus pustulatum ''Gorgonocephalus'', the Gorgon's heads or Gorgon's head basket stars, is a genus of marine basket stars in the class Ophiuroidea. Members of this genus are found in coldwater environments including the Arctic, the Antarctic, and deep-sea habitat ...

'' (H.L. Clark, 1916) *''

Gorgonocephalus sundanus ''Gorgonocephalus'', the Gorgon's heads or Gorgon's head basket stars, is a genus of marine basket stars in the class Ophiuroidea. Members of this genus are found in coldwater environments including the Arctic, the Antarctic, and deep-sea habitat ...

'' Döderlein, 1927 *''

Gorgonocephalus tuberosus ''Gorgonocephalus'', the Gorgon's heads or Gorgon's head basket stars, is a genus of marine basket stars in the class Ophiuroidea. Members of this genus are found in coldwater environments including the Arctic, the Antarctic, and deep-sea habitat ...

'' Döderlein, 1902

References

Gorgonocephalidae Ophiuroidea genera {{Ophiuroidea-stub