Ophiuridae

Amphiophiura urbana, from Museum Victoria.

Belongs within: Ophiurida.
Contains: Ophiura.

The Ophiuridae are a family of brittle stars with the arms fused to the central disc and without granulation on the disc scales or plates. Their fossil record extends back to the Lower Carboniferous, with the distinctive genus Aganaster from that period set apart by virtue of its disc with large radial shields united in pairs (Spencer & Wright 1966).

Characters (from Spencer & Wright 1966): Disc covered with thick scales or plates; primary circlet commonly prominent. No granulation. Radial shields normally stout. Genital papillae commonly present; oral papillae few; no dental papillae; an unpaired infradental papilla at apex of each jaw. Arms inserted laterally in and fused with disc. Arms short or moderately long, stout, widest at base, tapering rapidly. Arm plates all well developed. Arm spines short, flat on arm.

Ophiuridae
    |--Aganaster Miller & Gurley 1890 [=Ophiopege Böhm 1893; Aganasteridae, Aganasterinae] SW66
    |    `--*A. gregarius (Meek & Worthen 1869) [=Protaster gregarius, *Ophiopege gregarius] SW66
    `--Ophiurinae [Cholasteridae, Ophiomastinae] SW66
         |--Ophiura SW66
         |--Anophiura Clark 1939 SW66
         |    `--*A. simplex Clark 1939 SW66
         |--Anthophiura Clark 1911 SW66
         |    `--*A. axiologa Clark 1911 SW66
         |--Aspidophiura Matsumoto 1915 SW66
         |    `--*A. watasei Matsumoto 1915 SW66
         |--Aspidura Agassiz 1835 SW66
         |    `--*A. loricata (Goldfuss 1826) [=Ophiura loricata] SW66
         |--Astrophiura Sladen 1879 SW66
         |    `--*A. permira Sladen 1879 SW66
         |--Cholaster Worthen & Miller 1883 SW66
         |    `--*C. peculiaris Worthen & Miller 1883 SW66
         |--Dictenophiura Clark 1923 SW66
         |    `--*D. carnea (Lütken 1858) [=Ophiura carnea] SW66
         |--Euvondrea Fell 1961 SW66, F61
         |    `--*E. floretta Fell 1961 F61
         |--Geocoma d’Orbigny 1850 SW66
         |    `--*G. carinata (Münster in Goldfuss 1833) [=Ophiura carinata] SW66
         |--Gymnophiura Lütken & Mortensen 1897 SW66
         |    `--*G. mollis Lütken & Mortensen 1897 SW66
         |--Haplophiura Matsumoto 1915 SW66
         |    `--*H. gymnopora (Clark 1909) [=Ophiozona gymnopora] SW66
         |--Homalophiura Clark 1915 SW66
         |    `--*H. inornata (Lyman 1878) [=Ophioglypha inornata] SW66
         |--Ophiochalcis Koehler 1931 SW66
         |    `--*O. aspera Koehler 1931 SW66
         |--Ophiochorus Clark 1939 SW66
         |    `--*O. granulatus Clark 1939 SW66
         |--Ophiochrysis Koehler 1904 SW66
         |    `--*O. ornata Koehler 1904 SW66
         |--Ophiocrossota Clark 1928 SW66
         |    `--O. multispina (Ljungman 1867) [=Ophioglypha multispina] SW66
         |--Ophiocten Lütken 1955 SW66
         |    `--O. sericeum (Forbes 1852) [=Ophiura sericea; incl. *Ophiocten kroyeri Lütken 1955] SW66
         |--Ophiogona Studer 1876 [=Ophiagona Lütken 1877; incl. Ophiomaria Clark 1916] SW66
         |    `--*O. laevigata Studer 1876 SW66
         |--Ophiophycis Koehler 1901 SW66
         |    `--*O. mirabilis Koehler 1901 SW66
         |--Ophiopleura Danielsson & Koren 1877 [incl. Luetkenia Duncan 1878 non Claus 1864] SW66
         |    `--*O. borealis Danielsson & Koren 1877 SW66
         |--Ophioplinthus Lyman 1878 SW66
         |    `--*O. medusa Lyman 1878 SW66
         |--Ophiotjalfa Mortensen 1915 SW66
         |    `--*O. vivipara Mortensen 1915 SW66
         |--Ophiotypa Koehler 1897 SW66
         |    `--*O. simplex Koehler 1897 SW66
         |--Ophiuroglypha Hertz 1926 SW66
         |    `--*O. lymani (Ljungman 1870) [=Ophioglypha lymani] SW66
         |--Stegophiura Matsumoto 1915 SW66
         |    `--*S. nodosa (Lütken 1855) [=Ophiura nodosa] SW66
         |--Theodoria Fell 1961 SW66
         |    `--*T. relegata (Koehler 1922) [=Amphiophiura relegata] SW66
         |--Ophiomastus Lyman 1878 SW66
         |    |--*O. tegulitius Lyman 1878 SW66
         |    `--O. stellamaris SW66
         |--Ophiomisidium Koehler 1914 SW66
         |    |--*O. speciosum Koehler 1914 SW66
         |    `--O. irene Fell 1952 MG-H11
         |--Ophionotus Bell 1902 SW66
         |    |--*O. victoriae Bell 1902 SW66
         |    `--O. hexactis F67
         |--Ophiopyrgus Lyman 1878 [incl. Ophiopyrgoides Clark 1939] SW66
         |    |--*O. wyvillethomsoni Lyman 1878 SW66
         |    `--O. trispinosus Koehler 1904 MG-H11 [=*Ophiopyrgoides trispinosus SW66]
         |--Ophiuraster Clark 1939 SW66
         |    |--*O. perissus Clark 1939 SW66
         |    `--O. symmetricus SW66
         |--Aplocoma d’Orbigny 1852 SW66
         |    |--*A. agassizi (Münster 1831) [=Acroura agassizi] SW66
         |    |--A. leckenbyi SW66
         |    `--A. murravii SW66
         |--Ophiurolepis Matsumoto 1915 SW66
         |    |--*O. carinata (Studer 1876) [=Ophiolepis carinata] SW66
         |    |--O. accomodata Koehler 1922 MG-H11
         |    `--O. tumescens F61
         |--Ophiosteira Bell 1902 [incl. Ophiomages Koehler 1923] SW66
         |    |--*O. antarctica Bell 1902 F61
         |    |--O. bullivanti Fell 1961 F61
         |    |--O. echinulata SW66
         |    `--O. rotundata F61
         `--Amphiophiura Matsumoto 1915 SW66
              |--*A. bullata (Wyville-Thomson 1873) [=Ophioglypha bullata] SW66
              |--A. distincta (Koehler 1904) MG-H11
              |--A. insolita (Koehler 1904) MG-H11
              |--A. sordida (Koehler 1897) MG-H11
              `--A. urbana (Koehler 1904) MG-H11

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[F61] Fell, H. B. 1961. New genera and species of Ophiuroidea from Antarctica. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 88 (4): 839–841.

[F67] Fell, H. B. 1967. Echinoderm ontogeny. In: Moore, R. C. (ed.) Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology pt S. Echinodermata 1. General characters. Homalozoa—Crinozoa (except Crinoidea) vol. 1 pp. S60–S85. The Geological Society of America, Inc., and The University of Kansas: Lawrence (Kansas).

[MG-H11] McEnnulty, F. R., K. L. Gowlett-Holmes, A. Williams, F. Althaus, J. Fromont, G. C. B. Poore, T. D. O’Hara, L. Marsh, P. Kott, S. Slack-Smith, P. Alderslade & M. V. Kitahara. 2011. The deepwater megabenthic invertebrates on the western continental margin of Australia (100–1100 m depths): composition, distribution and novelty. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 80: 1–191.

[SW66] Spencer, W. K., & C. W. Wright. 1966. Asterozoans. In: Moore, R. C. (ed.) Treatise on invertebrate Paleontology pt U. Echinodermata 3 vol. 1 pp. U4–U107. The Geological Society of America, Inc., and The University of Kansas Press.