Gorgonocephalus

Gorgonocephalus, also called Gorgon's heads or Gorgon's head basket stars, is a group of marine basket stars belonging to the class Ophiuroidea. These animals live in cold waters, such as those of the Arctic, Antarctic, and deep ocean. Their name comes from the Greek words gorgós ("dreaded") and -cephalus ("head"), referencing the resemblance between these echinoderms and the serpent-haired head of the Gorgon from Greek myth.

The body of a Gorgonocephalus consists of a central disc with five arms that repeatedly split into smaller and smaller branches through dichotomous branching. Like other ophiuroids, they have an internal skeleton made of calcified ossicles, but a fleshy skin layer covers it, giving them a rubbery look.

To feed, a basket star perches on an elevated spot, such as a sponge, and spreads its arms in a basket shape. The branches and branchlets twist and coil, trapping small crustaceans like the northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) that come within reach. Tiny hooks and spines on the arms hold the prey, and along with tube feet, they move the food to the mouth located on the underside of the central disc.

The World Register of Marine Species lists these species in the genus: Gorgonocephalus arcticus, Gorgonocephalus caputmedusae (Medusa's head), Gorgonocephalus chilensis, Gorgonocephalus diomedeae, Gorgonocephalus dolichodactylus, Gorgonocephalus eucnemis, Gorgonocephalus lamarckii, Gorgonocephalus pustulatum, Gorgonocephalus sundanus, and Gorgonocephalus tuberosus.