Ophiocoma scolopendrina

Ophiocoma scolopendrina
Ophiocoma scolopendrina at Sharm El Sheik, Red Sea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Ophiuroidea
Order: Ophiacanthida
Family: Ophiocomidae
Genus: Ophiocoma
Species:
O. scolopendrina
Binomial name
Ophiocoma scolopendrina
(Lamarck, 1816)
Synonyms
  • Ophiocoma alternans von Martens, 1870
  • Ophiocoma lubrica Koehler, 1898
  • Ophiocoma molaris Lyman, 1862
  • Ophiocoma variabilis Grube, 1857
  • Ophiura scolopendrina Lamarck, 1816

Ophiocoma scolopendrina is a species of brittle star belonging to the family Ophiocomidae. Restricted to life in the intertidal, they live in the Indo-Pacific. They can typically be found within crevices or beneath borders on intertidal reef platforms.[1] Unlike other Ophiocoma brittle stars, they are known for their unique way of surface-film feeding, using their arms to sweep the sea surface and trap food.[2] Regeneration of their arms are a vital component of their physiology, allowing them to efficiently surface-film feed.[3] These stars also have the ability to reproduce throughout the year, and have been known to have symbiotic relationships with other organisms.[4]

  1. ^ Liao, Y (1995). The Echinoderms of Southern China. Beijing: Science Press. p. 23.
  2. ^ Oak, T.; Scheibling, R.E. (2006-03-15). "Tidal activity pattern and feeding behaviour of the ophiuroid Ophiocoma scolopendrina on a Kenyan reef flat". Coral Reefs. 25 (2): 213–222. Bibcode:2006CorRe..25..213O. doi:10.1007/s00338-006-0089-6. ISSN 0722-4028. S2CID 36668801.
  3. ^ Soong, K. (1997). "Regeneration and Potential Functional Differentiation of Arms in the Brittlestar, Ophiocoma scolopendrina (Lamarck) (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea)". Zoological Studies. 36 (2): 90–97.
  4. ^ Hendler, Gordon; Grygier, Mark J.; Maldonado, Elisa; Denton, Jessica (1999). "Babysitting Brittle Stars: Heterospecific Symbiosis between Ophiuroids (Echinodermata)". Invertebrate Biology. 118 (2): 190. doi:10.2307/3227060. ISSN 1077-8306. JSTOR 3227060.