Roberto Pillon, Italien
Info
Ophiomyxa pentagona is a snake starfish with highly variable coloring, which can be observed in brown to red color morphs.
Light speckles are usually visible on the body disc.
The snake starfish prefers soft sea beds, but regularly visits Posidonia and Caulerpa meadows.
The diameter of the body disc is 2-3 cm. Information on arm length cannot be found in the literature, so we asked Roberto Pillon, Italy, about this.
Based on numerous sightings and a comparison with Ophioderma longicaudum in the Mediterranean, Roberto gives an average arm length of 20-22 cm, so that the total length of the starfish can be given as 25 cm.
Little is known about the biology of Ophiomyxa pentagona, so unfortunately there is no scientific documentation on reproduction, which is presumably sexual, or diet, which is also presumed to consist of carrion, debris, and detritus.
Notes: Cherbonnier & Sibuet (1972) and Marques (1980) listed this species for the Azores archipelago. Although it is not entirely unlikely that this species occurs in the waters of the Azores, given its wide distribution in the northeast Atlantic, we were unable to find the original report. We believe that the inclusion of the Azores in the distribution of this species by Cherbonnier & Sibuet (1972) was based on an error.
Etymology:
The species name “pentagona” comes from the Greek meaning “five-angled” and refers to the shape of the shell.Synonyms:
Ophiomyxa lubrica Forbes, 1843 · unaccepted (decsision by editor)
Ophiura pentagona Lamarck, 1816 · unaccepted (synonym)
Light speckles are usually visible on the body disc.
The snake starfish prefers soft sea beds, but regularly visits Posidonia and Caulerpa meadows.
The diameter of the body disc is 2-3 cm. Information on arm length cannot be found in the literature, so we asked Roberto Pillon, Italy, about this.
Based on numerous sightings and a comparison with Ophioderma longicaudum in the Mediterranean, Roberto gives an average arm length of 20-22 cm, so that the total length of the starfish can be given as 25 cm.
Little is known about the biology of Ophiomyxa pentagona, so unfortunately there is no scientific documentation on reproduction, which is presumably sexual, or diet, which is also presumed to consist of carrion, debris, and detritus.
Notes: Cherbonnier & Sibuet (1972) and Marques (1980) listed this species for the Azores archipelago. Although it is not entirely unlikely that this species occurs in the waters of the Azores, given its wide distribution in the northeast Atlantic, we were unable to find the original report. We believe that the inclusion of the Azores in the distribution of this species by Cherbonnier & Sibuet (1972) was based on an error.
Etymology:
The species name “pentagona” comes from the Greek meaning “five-angled” and refers to the shape of the shell.Synonyms:
Ophiomyxa lubrica Forbes, 1843 · unaccepted (decsision by editor)
Ophiura pentagona Lamarck, 1816 · unaccepted (synonym)
