GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Ophiuroidea are commonly known as brittle stars based on the fragile nature of their snake-like arms. These serpentine arms in turn give them their scientific name: in Greek, “ophis” means snake and “oura” means tail.

Detailed explanation-2: -Brittle stars belong to Class Ophiuroidea (Phylum Echinodermata) and have radial symmetry, with five elongate, skinny arms extending from their central disc, or body.

Detailed explanation-3: -When handling these animals, their delicate arms break off easily as they tangle with themselves or other marine sediment debris. Brittle stars are fragile in other ways as well. They are considered “stress-sensitive” so their presence in a sediment sample is one indicator of a healthy benthic community.

Detailed explanation-4: -brittle star, also called serpent star, any of the 2, 100 living species of marine invertebrates constituting the subclass Ophiuroidea (phylum Echinodermata). Their long, thin arms-usually five and often forked and spiny-are distinctly set off from the small disk-shaped body.

Detailed explanation-5: -Brittle stars are starfish-like echinoderms (phylum Echinodermata, class Ophiuroidea), whose star-shaped bodies are radially symmetrical and are supported by a hard endoskeleton made of calcium salts.