Ophiotrichidae

Ophiotrichidae
Ophiothrix (Ophiothrix) foveolata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Echinodermata
Class:	Ophiuroidea
Order:	Ophiurida
Suborder:	Gnathophiurina
Superfamily:	Ophiactoidea
Family:	Ophiotrichidae Ljungman, 1867
Genera
See text

Ophiotrichidae are a family of brittle stars within the suborder Gnathophiurina.

All of its species have arms with delicate, translucent, thorny spines. Their arms are flexible in all directions. Their jaws contain clusters of well-developed tooth papillae on the apex but not on the sides. There are no mouth papillae. Inside the mouth edge there is a second pair of tube feet. They show large radial shields. The dorsal surface of the disc is covered with spines and thorny towers.

Systematics

Ophiotrichidae contains the following genera:

• Asteria (nomen dubium)
• Gymnolophus Brock, 1888
• Lissophiothrix H.L. Clark, 1938
• Macrophiothrix H.L. Clark, 1938
• Ophioaethiops Brock, 1888
• Ophiocampsis Duncan, 1887
• Ophiocnemis Müller & Troschel, 1842
• Ophiogymna Ljungman, 1866
• Ophiolophus Marktanner-Turneretscher, 1887
• Ophiomaza Lyman, 1871
• Ophiophthirius Döderlein, 1898
• Ophiopsammium Lyman, 1874
• Ophiopteron Ludwig, 1888
• Ophiothela Verrill, 1867
• Ophiothrichoides Delage & Hérouard, 1903
• Ophiothrix Müller & Troschel, 1840
• Ophiotrichoides Ludwig, 1882

• 
  Une Macrophiothrix sp.
• 
  Ophiogymna funesta
• 
  Ophiomaza cacaotica
• 
  Ophiopteron elegans
• 
  Ophiopsammium semperi
• 
  Ophiothela mirabilis
• 
  Ophiothrix foveolata
• 
  Ophiothrix fragilis
• 
  Ophiothrix spiculata
• 
  Ophiothrix suensonii
• 
  Ophiothrix angulata

References

• Hansson, H.G. (2001). Echinodermata, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 336–351
• Stöhr, S.; Hansson, H. (2009). Ophiotrichidae. In: Stöhr, S., O’Hara, T. (Eds) (2009). World Ophiuroidea database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at on 2010-06-16
• P.J. Hayward and J.S. Ryland (ed.), Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996, ISBN 0-19-854055-8