| Amphipholis | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Image of Amphipholis squamata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Ophiuroidea |
| Order: | Ophiurida |
| Family: | Amphiuridae |
| Genus: | Amphipholis Thomas, 1966 |
| Species | |
See text | |
Amphipholis is a large genus of brittle stars (Ophiuroidea) found in oceans worldwide from tropics to Arctic and Antarctic regions. Some species have been used to study echinoderm development ( Amphipholis kochii [1] ) and bioluminescence (the dwarf brittle star, Amphipholis squamata [2] [3] ).
Amphipholis is a large genus with potentially many cryptic species. [4] The high variability may be due to common parthenogenetic reproduction. The type species of the genus is Amphipholis januarii Ljungman, 1866(=Amphipholis gracillima (Stimpson, 1852)).
Species include: [5]