Ophiuroidea |
Ophiacanthida |
Ophiocomidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic. Tropical
Eastern Central Pacific: USA.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 30.0 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. 865)
It is found buried in soft bottoms, sand or mud, with only arms exposed, in shallow subtidal depths (Ref. 865).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Ophiuroidea are mostly gonochoric, others are protandric. Fertilization is external. Brooding is common, bursae is used as brood chambers where the embryos develop into juveniles and later crawl out from the bursal slits. Life cycle: Embryos hatch into free-swimming planktotrophic larvae and later metamorphose into tiny brittle stars which sink down the bottom where they grow into adult form.
Gotshall, D.W. 2005 Guide to marine invertebrates: Alaska to Baja California, 2nd ed. (revised). Sea Challengers. 117 p. (Ref. 865)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Fishing Vulnerability
Low vulnerability (20 of 100).
Price category
Unknown.