Amphipholis is a large genus of brittle star

Brittle star

Brittle stars or ophiuroids are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea closely related to starfish. They crawl across the seafloor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to in length on the largest specimens...

s (Ophiuroidea) found in oceans worldwide from tropics to Arctic and Antarctic regions. Some species have been used to study echinoderm development (Amphipholis kochii) and bioluminescence

Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin lumen "light". Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in...

 (the Dwarf brittle star, Amphipholis squamata).

Systematics

Amphipholis is a large genus with potentially many cryptic species. The high variability may be due to common parthenogenetic reproduction. The type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 of the genus is Amphipholis januarii Ljungman, 1866(=Amphipholis gracillima (Stimpson, 1852)).

Species include:

Amphipholis abdita Amphipholis andreae Amphipholis bananensis Amphipholis clypeata Amphipholis elevata Amphipholis erecta Amphipholis geminata Amphipholis goesi Amphipholis gracillima Amphipholis granulata Amphipholis kochii Amphipholis laevidisca Amphipholis limbata Amphipholis linopneusti Amphipholis litoralis Amphipholis loripes Amphipholis microdiscus

Amphipholis misera Amphipholis murmanica Amphipholis nudipora Amphipholis patagonica Amphipholis pentacantha Amphipholis platydisca Amphipholis procidens Amphipholis pugetana Amphipholis puntarenae Amphipholis sigillata Amphipholis similis Amphipholis sobrina Amphipholis squamata Amphipholis strata Amphipholis tetracantha Amphipholis torelli Amphipholis vitax