Ophioderma longicaudum is a brittle star of up to 15 cm in diameter with a central disc of 2,5 cm in diameter. The disc surface is smooth, covered on its two sides by tiny spherical grains visible under magnifying glass. The long smooth arms are cylindrical and tip-tapered. The colour is red to dark brown, the arms may have clearer bands. It lives on rocky bottoms and can move quickly thanks to the undulatory movements of its arms.
Ophioderma longicaudum is found from surface to 70 m deep in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Atlantic up to the Western Brittany coasts where it is rather rare.
Source : World Register of Marine Species
Dernière mise à jour 09-11-2024
Text : Anne Bay-Nouailhat © 2007 - 2024.
Photos : ©
Maurice loir, Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with his kind permission.
Websites and reference works : Consult bibliography
Image satellite: © Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community.
Données de distribution : Ophioderma longicaudum in GBIF Secretariat (2019). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-11-09.
Text : Anne Bay-Nouailhat © 2007 - 2024.
Photos : ©
Maurice loir, Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with his kind permission.
Websites and reference works : Consult bibliography
Bay-Nouailhat A., December 2007, Description of Ophioderma longicaudum, [On line] https://www.european-marine-life.org/30/ophioderma-longicaudum.php, consulted on 2024 November 09.
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Project manager in marine environment
Professional diver - Naturalist
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