Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids 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 60 cm (24 in) in length on the largest specimens.
Ophiopholis is a genus of brittle stars (Ophiuroidea) found in oceans worldwide from tropics to temperate regions.
Ophiactidae are a family of brittle stars.
Ophiotrichidae are a family of brittle stars within the suborder Gnathophiurina.
Ophioderma is a genus of brittle stars in the family Ophiodermatidae.
Ophionotus victoriae is a species of brittle star in the order Ophiurida. It has a circumpolar distribution around Antarctica.
Amphiodia pulchella is a species of brittle star belonging to Amphiuridae, a diverse family of the Ophiurida order.
Ophiocoma is a genus of brittle stars belonging to the family Ophiocomidae.
Nudamphiura is a genus of echinoderms. Nudamphiura was described by Luiz Roberto Tommasi in 1965. The only species is Nudamphiura carvalhoi.
Ophiocomina is a genus of brittle stars belonging to the family Ophiotomidae. They are distributed worldwide.
Ophiocoma echinata, the spiny ophiocoma, is a species of brittle star belonging to the family Ophiocomidae. It is the type species of the genus Ophiocoma and is found in the tropical west Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Ophiactis is a genus of brittle stars (Ophiuroidea).
Ophiacanthidae is a family of brittle stars. Axel Vilhelm Ljungman circumscribed this taxon in 1867; he initially named the subfamily Ophiacanthinae within the family Amphiuridae. Gordon L. J. Paterson promoted its rank to family in 1985.
Astrobrachion constrictum is a basket star in the family Euryalidae. It is mostly found at depths of between 50 and 180 m, but around the coast of New Zealand it occurs in shallow waters, in association with the black coral Antipathella fiordensis.
Astrobrachion adhaerens is a basket star in the Euryalidae family. Along with A. constrictum, it is one of only two species in the genus Astrobrachion. Both species live in association with soft corals in moderately deep water. It is endemic to the west, north and east coasts of Australia, the Kermadec Islands and Lord Howe Island.
Ophiohamus is a genus of brittle stars in the family Ophiacanthidae from New Caledonia. Timothy D. O'Hara and Sabine Stöhr circumscribed and named the genus in 2006; they described the type species Ophiohamus nanus in the same work. A second species, Ophiohamus georgemartini, was described by O'Hara and Caroline Harding in 2015. As of 2018, those are the only two species recognized in this genus.
Euryalidae is a family of echinoderms belonging to the order Euryalida.
Ophiojura is a genus of brittle star in its own family, Ophiojuridae. It has only one known species, Ophiojura exbodi, collected by the EXBODI expedition from Banc Durand seamount off New Caledonia in 2011 at a depth of 360–460 m (1,200–1,500
Hemipholis is a genus of brittle stars.
Ophiotomidae is a family of brittle stars. It was originally introduced as a subfamily Ophiotominae under the family Ophiacanthidae. The family has a worldwide distribution.
