Ophiomastix wendtii
A color-changing brittle star with crystal-arm vision.
Last updated
Ophiomastix wendtii, commonly known as the red ophiocoma and formerly as Ophiocoma wendtii, is a species of brittle star found in coral reefs from Bermuda to Brazil, primarily in the Caribbean Sea. It is notable for its long, thin arms with club-like spines, its ability to change color via phototropic chromatophores, and a complex visual system involving calcite crystals on its arms that was once thought to function like trilobite eyes.
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumEchinodermata
- ClassOphiuroidea
- OrderOphiacanthida
- FamilyOphiocomidae
- GenusOphiomastix
- SpeciesOphiomastix wendtii
Named by (Müller & Troschel, 1842)
Close relatives
Other species of Ophiomastix with a Codexery entry.
- Ophiomastix venosa Ophiomastix venosa
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Ophiomastix wendtii (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 1307747 (CC BY 4.0)
Where the ophiomastix wendtii has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (562 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 23 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 2 isolated far-off records not drawn.
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Quick Facts
- Species
- wendtii
Facts from the source article.
Background
Ophiomastix wendtii was originally named Ophiocoma wendtii by J. Muller and F. H. Troschel in 1842. In 2018, Timothy O'Hara reclassified it under the genus Ophiomastix, one of four genera previously thought to constitute Ophiocoma.
The genus Ophiomastix is characterized by bearing spines twice as high as they are wide. A proposed name, Ophiocoma riisei, was suggested by Christian Frederik Lütken in 1856 but never commonly accepted. The etymology of wendtii supposedly comes from a Captain Johann Wilhelm Wendt.
The species inhabits reef rubble of the Caribbean Sea, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, and is most commonly found near Belize and Costa Rica. It has been reported as far south as near Brazil and also in the Mozambique Channel between eastern Africa and Madagascar. It is typically found within a depth range of 1 to 27 meters. O. wendtii is considered among the macrobenthos functional group, alongside its fellow Ophiuroidea.
O. wendtii bears long, club-shaped spines on its arms and can change color by means of phototropic chromatophores. It is typically deep crimson, fading to neutral beige at night, and its color can be artificially changed by alterations in light exposure.
Its arms are covered with calcite crystals, thought to be reinforced with magnesium-rich nanoprecipitates to make them more difficult to crack. Like other echinoderms, it forms a mineralized skeleton. It is averse to light, preferring to come out at night, and its pluteus larvae are planktotrophic.
More in Brittle Stars
Elsewhere in Sea Cucumbers and Brittle Stars
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ophiomastix wendtii (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; order, family and genus checked against WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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