Ophiomastix janualis
©Anne Hoggett: Ophiomastix janualis exposed on flat sandy bottom of Watson's Bay, Lizard Island, 14-16 m.
©Anne Hoggett: Ophiomastix janualis exposed on flat sandy bottom of Watson's Bay, Lizard Island, 14-16 m.
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Echinodermata
Class
Ophiuroidea
Order
Ophiurida
Family
Ophiocomidae
Genus
Ophiomastix
Species
Ophiomastix janualis
Colours
Distinguishing features
A large dark brown brittlestar with a pale yellow bands on the arms. In reef areas, arms protrude and dangle from corals with the disc hidden within corals. Also found on flat sandy bottom, completely exposed. The disc is sparsely covered with sharp spinelets that are often pale, especially at the base. The arm spines are long and uniformly dark, not banded. Some individuals have some upper arm spines conspicuosly expanded at the tip into a club-like shape but other individuals have all arm spines elongate and tapering (Devaney, 1978).
Taxonomic features (Devaney, 1978) are too small to be seen in the field but colour pattern enables this species to be distinguished from other Ophiomastix species at Lizard Island.
Size
- Up to 18 cm (arm length)
Depth range
- Depth range data is not yet available.
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Local abundance
- Lizard Island: This species is extremely abundant, their arms commonly seen protruding from corals Porites cylindrica and Turbinaria reniformis.
Web resources
References
References that assist with identification
- Clark, A.M. and F.W.E. Rowe (1971). Monograph of shallow-water Indo-west Pacific echinoderms British Museum (Natural History), London.
Other references
- Devaney, D. (1978). A Review of the Genus Ophiomastix (Ophiuroidea: Ophiocomidae), Micronesica, 14(2): 273-359. LIRS catalog number 90168.