Gorgon heads
| Gorgon heads | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Gorgonocephalidae | ||||||||||||
| Ljungman , 1867 |
The Gorgon or Medusenhäupter (Gorgonocephalidae) are plankton catch specialized brittle stars (Ophiuroidea) whose arms are highly branched. They are somewhat similar to the hairy stars (Comatulida), with which they are not closely related. Gorgon heads are nocturnal and usually sit on gorgonians , sponges , hard corals , soft or fire corals and stretch their arms towards the current. The plankton filtered out is held in place with small ticks. From time to time the arms are bent over and put in the mouth. During the day they hide in hiding places and pull themselves together in a disorganized tangle of arms.
Medusa heads live in all oceans, also in coral reefs and with the genus Gorgonocephalus also in the North Atlantic and on the coast of Northern Europe. Astrospartus arborescens lives in the Mediterranean .
Large gorgon heads can be 1.5 meters in diameter, with arm lengths of 70 centimeters. Many species are very colorful and can be white, yellow, orange, blue, or purple. There are also striped or spotted drawings.
They are inhabited by a multitude of other invertebrates such as partner shrimp , cracked crabs , copepods , amphipods , mollusks , bristle worms and other brittle stars.
It is named after the gorgons , frightening figures with snake hair from Greek mythology , and the gorgon Medusa , whose head was cut off by Perseus .
Genera
The family currently comprises 32 genera. (As of January 2018)
- Asteroporpa Örsted & Lütken , 1856
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Astracme Döderlein , 1927
- Astracme mucronata ( Lyman , 1869)
- Astroboa Döderlein , 1911
- Astrocaneum Döderlein , 1911
- Astrochalcis Koehler , 1905
- Astrochele Verrill , 1878
- Astrochlamys Koehler , 1912
- Astrocladus Verrill , 1899
- Astroclon Lyman , 1879
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Astrocnida Lyman , 1872
- Astrocnida isidis ( Duchassaing , 1850)
- Astrocrius Döderlein , 1927
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Astrocyclus Döderlein , 1911
- Astrocyclus caecilia ( Lütken , 1856)
- Astrodendrum Döderlein , 1911
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Astrodictyum Döderlein , 1927
- Astrodictyum panamense ( Verrill , 1867)
- Astroglymma Doederlein , 1927
- Astrogomphus Lyman , 1869
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Astrogordius Döderlein , 1911
- Astrogordius cacaoticus ( Lyman , 1874)
- Astrohamma Döderlein , 1930
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Astroniwa McKnight , 2000
- Astroniwa nukurangi McKnight , 2000
- Astrophyton Fleming , 1828
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Astroplegma Döderlein , 1927
- Astroplegma expansum Döderlein , 1927
- Astrosierra Baker , 1980
- Astrospartus Döderlein , 1911
- Astrothamnus Matsumoto , 1915
- Astrothorax Döderlein , 1911
- Astrothrombus H.L. Clark , 1909
- Astrotoma Lyman , 1875
- Astrozona Döderlein , 1930
- Conocladus H.L. Clark , 1909
- Gorgonocephalus Leach , 1815
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Ophiocrene Bell , 1894
- Ophiocrene aenigma Bell , 1894
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Ophiozeta Koehler , 1930
- Ophiozeta turgida Koehler , 1930
- Schizostella A.H. Clark , 1952
