Banded brittle star
| Banded brittle star | ||||||||||||
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Banded brittle star ( Ophiolepis superba ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ophiolepis superba | ||||||||||||
| HL Clark , 1915 |
The Banded or Magnificent brittle star ( Ophiolepis superba ) lives on sandy floors and coral debris in the coral reefs of the tropical, western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea . In the Indian Ocean it occurs on the coast of East Africa from Mozambique to Somalia as well as in the Seychelles , the Mascarene Islands and Madagascar .
features
The banded brittle star has a pentagonal body disc that can reach a diameter of three centimeters, the five arms are a maximum of nine centimeters long. They are beige, yellowish or light brown in color. The body disc is patterned with a dark brown or black five-pointed star that has a round, bright center. The arms are dark brown and lightly curled. They are round in cross-section, have short spines and taper off. The animals are relatively stiff and can only raise their arms a little above the horizontal axis of the body.
Way of life
Banded brittle stars are solitary, light-shy and nocturnal. During the day they hide under stones and corals, and at night they crawl over coral rubble and sandy areas in search of food. They feed on small invertebrates and detritus .
literature
- Harry Erhardt / Horst Moosleitner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 3 , Mergus-Verlag, Melle, ISBN 3-88244-103-8
- Svein A. Fossa / Alf Jacob Nilsen: Coral reef aquarium Volume 6 , Schmettkamp Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-928819-18-6
Web links
- Ophiolepis superba . World Ophiuroid Database. marinespecies.org