Ophiuroidea Brittle Star | Morocco

Specimen approx. size: 1.5" x 0.75"

Matrix approx. size: 4.5" x 4"

Brittle Stars or Ophiuroids (aka Serpent Stars) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea which are closely related to starfish. They generally have five long, flexible, slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to 24 inches in length on the largest specimens, they use these for locomotion to crawl across the sea floor. Over 2,000 species of brittle stars live today with more than 1200 of these species found in deep waters, at greater than 200m deep!