ECHINODERMATA : OPHIURIDA : Ophiactidae | STARFISH, SEA URCHINS, ETC. |
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Ophiopholis aculeata |
Description: A large brittle star with twisted arms which are conspicuously banded. The disc is covered with large plates separated by small granules and the dorsal surface of the arm has a single series of oval plates along its midline each surrounded by a ring of smaller plates. There are 4-5 robust conical arm spines and a single tentacle scale. Disc 15mm. arms 4x disc diameter.
Habitat: Characteristically found in crevices or borings in rock with just the arms projecting.
Distribution: Widely distributed around the British Isles but commoner in the north. Reaches the southern limit of its distribution in the English Channel.
Similar Species: Ophiactis balli is similar but smaller.
Key Identification Features:
Distribution Map: NBN map : National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.
WoRMS: Species record : World Register of Marine Species.
iNaturalist: Species account : iNaturalist World Species Observations database
Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C. (2016). Ophiopholis aculeata (Linnaeus, 1767). [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. https://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=ZB2780 Accessed on 2023-12-11 |
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