Brittle star
Ophiothrix fragilis
- Scientific name
- Ophiothrix fragilis
- Group
- Echinoderms (starfish, urchins...)
- Rarity
- Common
- Where to see it
- Mediterranean, Temperate Atlantic / English Channel
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Not evaluated
Did you know?
Brittle stars can gather by the thousands on the seafloor to form living carpets, and if a predator grabs one of their arms, they can shed it themselves and regrow it later.
What defines this group — Echinoderms (starfish, urchins...)
Starfish, urchins and sea cucumbers: a five-fold symmetry found nowhere else in the animal kingdom.
- The body is arranged in fives around a centre: no head, no front, no back.
- They move on hundreds of tube feet driven by water under pressure.
- Many regrow a lost arm; some starfish can rebuild themselves from a single one.