Phrynophiurida

Asteroschema oligactes, copyright Smithsonian Institution/Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.

Belongs within: Ophiuroidea.
Contains: Ophiomyxinae, Gorgonocephalidae.

The Phrynophiurida are a group of ophiuroids with the arm plates reduced and the disc and arms covered by a thick soft skin. In the suborder Euryalina, the disc is small and also lacks plates (Spencer & Wright 1966).

Characters (from Spencer & Wright 1966): Disk and arms covered with skin; radial shields and genital plates articulating by simple facet or transverse ridge or transverse ridge on each plate; peristomial plates large, entire or double or triple; oral frames entire, without well-developed lateral wings; dorsal arm plates absent or rudimentary; lateral arm plates ventral or subventral.

<==Phrynophiurida
    |--Ophiomyxidae [Ophiomyxina] F67
    |    |--Ophiomyxinae SW66
    |    `--Ophiobyrsinae SW66
    |         |--Ophiobyrsa Lyman 1878 SW66
    |         |    `--*O. rudis Lyman 1878 SW66
    |         |--Astrogymnotes Clark 1914 [incl. Ophiovesta Koehler 1931] SW66
    |         |    `--*A. catasticta Clark 1914 SW66
    |         |--Ophiobrachion Lyman 1883 SW66
    |         |    `--*O. uncinatus Lyman 1883 SW66
    |         |--Ophiobyrsella Verrill 1899 SW66
    |         |    `--*O. serpens Lyman 1883 SW66
    |         |--Ophioschiza Clark 1911 SW66
    |         |    `--*O. monacantha Clark 1911 SW66
    |         |--Ophiosmilax Matsumoto 1915 SW66
    |         |    `--*O. mirabilis Matsumoto 1915 SW66
    |         `--Ophiophrixus Clark 1911 SW66
    |              |--*O. acanthinus Clark 1911 SW66
    |              `--O. spinosus BK77
    `--Euryalina [Euryalae] B01
         |--Gorgonocephalidae SW66
         |--Onychaster Meek & Worthen 1868 [Onychasteridae] SW66
         |    `--*O. flexilis Meek & Worthen 1868 SW66
         |--Asteronychidae SW66
         |    |--Asteronyx Müller & Troschel 1842 SW66
         |    |    `--*A. loveni Müller & Troschell 1842 SW66
         |    `--Astrodia Verrill 1899 SW66
         |         `--*A. tenuispina Verrill 1899 SW66
         |--Eospondylidae B01
         |    |--Kentrospondylus Lehmann 1957 SW66
         |    |    `--*K. decadactylus Lehmann 1957 SW66
         |    `--Eospondylus Gregory 1897 B01 [=Ophiurella Stürtz 1886 non Agassiz 1836 SW66]
         |         |--*E. primigenius (Stürtz 1886) B01 [=*Ophiurella primigenia SW66]
         |         `--E. ingens Boczarowski 2001 B01
         |--Euryalidae [Trichasteridae] MG-H11
         |    |--Astroceras Lyman 1879 SW66
         |    |    `--*A. pergamena Lyman 1879 SW66
         |    |--Euryale Oken 1815 SW66
         |    |    `--*E. asperum Lamarck 1816 SW66
         |    |--Sthenocephalus Koehler 1898 SW66
         |    |    `--*S. indicus Koehler 1898 SW66
         |    |--Asterostegus Mortensen 1933 SW66
         |    |    `--*A. tuberculatus Mortensen 1933 SW66
         |    |--Asteromorpha Lütken 1869 SW66
         |    |    |--A. rousseaui (Michelin 1862) (see below for synonymy) SW66
         |    |    `--A. koehleri (Döderlein 1898) MG-H11
         |    `--Trichaster Agassiz 1836 SW66
         |         |--*T. palmiferus (Lamarck 1816) [=Euryale palmiferum] SW66
         |         `--T. flagellifer von Martens 1877 MG-H11
         `--Asteroschematidae SW66
              |--Astrocharis Koehler 1904 SW66
              |    `--*A. virgo Koehler 1904 SW66
              |--Astroscolex Mortensen 1933 SW66
              |    `--*A. adhaerens (Studer 1884) [=Ophiocreas adhaerens] SW66
              |--Ophiuropsis Studer 1884 SW66
              |    `--*O. lymani Studer 1884 SW66
              |--Astrobrachion Döderlein 1927 SW66
              |    |--*A. constrictum (Farquar 1900) [=Ophiocreas constrictus] SW66
              |    `--A. adhaerens (Studer 1884) MG-H11
              |--Ophiocreas Lyman 1879 SW66
              |    |--*O. lumbricus Lyman 1879 SW66
              |    |--O. oedipus Lyman 1879 MG-H11
              |    `--O. sibogae Koehler 1904 MG-H11
              `--Asteroschema Oersted & Lütken 1856 [incl. Laspalia Ljungman 1872 non Gray 1840] SW66
                   |--*A. oligactes (Pallas 1788) [=Asterias oligactes] SW66
                   |--A. brachiatum H04
                   |--A. glutinosum SW66
                   |--A. horridum H04
                   `--A. rubrum H04

Trace fossil: Euryale liasica Quenstedt 1876 SW66

Asteromorpha rousseaui (Michelin 1862) [=Asteroschema rousseaui; incl. *Asteromorpha steenstrupii Lütken 1869] SW66

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BK77] Barel, C. D. N., & P. G. N. Kramers. 1977. A survey of the echinoderm associates of the north-east Atlantic area. Zoologische Verhandelingen 156: 1–159.

[B01] Boczarowski, A. 2001. Isolated sclerites of Devonian non-pelmatozoan echinoderms. Palaeontologia Polonica 59: 1–219.

[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).

[H04] Haeckel, E. 1899–1904. Kunstformen der Natur. Bibliographisches Institut: Leipzig und Wien.

[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.