Ophiura ophiura   (Linnaeus, 1758)

Serpent brittle star

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Ophiura ophiura  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Ophiura ophiura

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Ophiuroidea | Ophiurida | Ophiuridae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 0 - 685 m (Ref. 85345).  Temperate; 72°N - 30°N, 33°W - 42°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea: Belgium, Germany and Celtic Sea. Temperate and subtropical.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Epibenthic (Ref. 87524). Found in small numbers along the near-coastal zone in the North Sea off Belgium, in fine- to medium-grained sediment with mud content of 30-40% (Refs. 7882, 96391). Possess very agile and strong arms (Ref. 7882). Ubiquitous, free-living species (Ref. 96391).

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.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Harms, J. 1993. (Ref. 2711)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses


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Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance
References
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 6.9 - 11.4, mean 8.9 (based on 331 cells).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.