Ophiothricidae are a family of ophiurid 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 within the infraorder Gnathophiurina.

All have arms with delicate translucent, thorny spines. The arms are flexible in all directions. The jaws contain clusters of well-developed tooth papillae on the apex but not on the sides. There are no mouth papillae. Inside the mouth edge there is a second pair of tube feet. They show large radial shields. The dorsal surface of the disc is covered with spines and thorny towers.

Systematics

Ophiothricidae contains the following genera:

• Asteria (nomen dubium)
• Gymnolophus Brock, 1888
• Lissophiothrix H.L. Clark, 1938
• Macrophiothrix H.L. Clark, 1938
• Ophioaethiops Brock, 1888
• Ophiocampsis Duncan, 1887
• Ophiocnemis Müller & Troschel, 1842
• Ophiogymna Ljungman, 1866
• Ophiolophus Marktanner-Turneretscher, 1887
• Ophiomaza Lyman, 1871
• Ophiophthirius Döderlein, 1898
• Ophiopsammium Lyman, 1874
• Ophiopteron Ludwig, 1888
• Ophiothela Verrill, 1867
• Ophiothrichoides Delage & Hérouard, 1903
• Ophiothrix Müller & Troschel, 1840
• Ophiotrichoides Ludwig, 1882