Ophiuroidea |
Ophiurida |
Ophiuridae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic; depth range 0 - 3000 m (Ref. 95072). Polar
Arctic, Northern Pacific and Northern Atlantic.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Maximum depth from Ref. 111335. Free-living (Ref. 3123).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Ophiuroidea are mostly gonochoric, others are protandric. Fertilization is external. Brooding is common, bursae is used as brood chambers where the embryos develop into juveniles and later crawl out from the bursal slits. Life cycle: Embryos hatch into free-swimming planktotrophic larvae and later metamorphose into tiny brittle stars which sink down the bottom where they grow into adult form.
Piepenburg, D., N.V. Chernova, C.F. von Dorrien, J. Gutt, A.V. Neyelov, E. Rachor, L. Saldanha and M.K. Schmid 1996 Megabenthic communities in the waters around Svalbard. Polar Biol. 16:431-446. (Ref. 2952)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)Diet compositionFood consumptionPredators Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 0.5 - 7.9, mean 3 (based on 1388 cells).
Price category
Unknown.
