''Amphipholis squamata'', common names brooding snake star and dwarf brittle star, is a species complexLe Gac, M., Féral, J.P., Poulin, E., Veyret, M. & Chenuil, A. (2004) ''Identification of allopatric clades in the cosmopolitan ophiuroid species complex ''Amphipholis squamata'' (Echinodermata). The end of a paradox?'' Marine Ecology Progress Series, 278: 171–178. of

brittle star Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomo ...

s in the family

Amphiuridae Amphiuridae (commonly called long-armed burrowing brittle stars or burrowing brittle stars) are a large family of brittle stars of the suborder Gnathophiurina. Some species are used to study echinoderm development (e.g. '' Amphipholis kochii'' an ...

Description

This species is small, grey to bluish-white, and

phosphorescent Phosphorescence is a type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. When exposed to light (radiation) of a shorter wavelength, a phosphorescent substance will glow, absorbing the light and reemitting it at a longer wavelength. Unlike fluor ...

. It has thin, short arms around 20 mm long. The round disc is 3 to 5mm, and has a scale covering with D-shaped radial plates. It has rhombic-shaped mouth shields and extremely wide mouth papillae.

Distribution

''Amphipholis Squamata'' is found in all parts of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

and also in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It has been recorded in many other parts of the world and molecular studies have shown that there are multiple species in this complex.

Habitat

This brittle star lives in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...

in shallow water, and can be found under large stones, shells, and around

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s such as bryozoans.

Parasites

This brittle star hosts at least two species of

ectoparasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

s. The following two that have been confirmed are both

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

s: *'' Cancerilla tubulata'' Dalyell, 1851 *'' Parachordeumium amphiurae'' (Hérouard, 1906)

Synonyms

*''Asterias noctiluca'' Viviani, 1805 *''Ophiura elegans'' Leach, 1815 uppressed**''Amphiura elegans'' (Leach, 1815) *''Asterias squamata'' Delle Chiaje, 1828 **''Amphioplus squamata'' (Delle Chiaje, 1828) **''Amphiura squamata'' (Delle Chiaje, 1828) **''Axiognathus squamata'' (Delle Chiaje, 1828) *''Amphiura neglecta'' Forbes, 1843 *''Ophiolepis tenuis'' Ayres, 1854 *''Amphiura tenera'' Lütken, 1856 **''Amphipholis tenera'' (Lütken, 1856) *''Amphiura tenuispina'' Ljungman, 1865 **''Amphipholis tenuispina'' (Ljungman, 1865) **''Amphipholis squamata tenuispina'' (Ljungman, 1865) *''Amphipholis appressa'' Ljungman, 1872 *''Amphipholis kinbergi'' Ljungman, 1872 *''Amphipholis lineata'' Ljungman, 1872 *''Amphipholis patagonica'' Ljungman, 1872 *''Amphiura parva'' Hutton, 1878 *''Amphipholis australiana'' H.L. Clark, 1909 *''Ophiactis minor'' Döderlein, 1910 **''Amphipholis minor'' (Döderlein, 1910) *''Amphipholis japonica'' Matsumoto, 1915 *''Amphipholis tissieri'' Reys, 1961

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1922756 Amphiuridae Animals described in 1829