Gorgonocephalus Caputmedusae
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''Gorgonocephalus caputmedusae'', also known as a Gorgon's head or Medusa's head is a
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), ...
of ''
Gorgonocephalus ''Gorgonocephalus'', the Gorgon's heads or Gorgon's head basket stars, is a genus of marine basket stars in the Class (biology), class Ophiuroidea. Members of this genus are found in coldwater environments including the Arctic, the Antarctic, and ...
'', a genus of
brittle star 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 ...
. The species has five main arms, which, however, are divided into a very large number of sub-arms; an individual may have hundreds of arm tips. These arms extend from a central body that is about 9 centimeters in diameter. They live off
zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...
.


References

Gorgonocephalidae {{Ophiuroidea-stub