brittle star

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brittle star

Any of various marine echinoderms of the order Ophiurida having long slender arms.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

brit′tle star`

or brit′tle•star`,

any echinoderm of the class Ophiuroidea, having the body composed of a central rounded disk from which radiate long, slender, fragile arms.

[1835–45]

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Noun 1. [画像:brittle star - an animal resembling a starfish with fragile whiplike arms radiating from a small central disc]brittle star - an animal resembling a starfish with fragile whiplike arms radiating from a small central disc

brittle-star, serpent star

echinoderm - marine invertebrates with tube feet and five-part radially symmetrical bodies

Ophiurida, subclass Ophiurida - brittle stars

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References in periodicals archive ?

Brooding of pelagic-type larvae in Ophiopeza spinosa--reproduction and development in a tropical ophiodermatid brittlestar. Invertebr.

Abbreviated Development of the Brooding Brittle Star Ophioplocus esmarki

Near-future level of C[O.sub.2]-driven ocean acidification radically affects larval survival and development in the brittlestar Ophiothrix fragilis.

Ocean acidification research in Estonia: challenges and opportunities/Ookeanide hapestumise uuringud Eestis: valjakutsed ja voimalused

Ophionereis annulatei (Le Conte, 1851), Ringed Brittlestar (Fig.

Where the Weird Things are: A Collection of Species Range Extensions in the Southern California Bight

Dr Doyle added the newly analysed brittlestar is a species with super survival powers.

435m-year-old fossil confirmed as a new species

Sea urchins graze on the wide variety of seaweed, different species of brittlestar cling to the underside of rocks, sea slugs feed on sponges and beadlet, strawberry and dahlia anemones.

Three marine protected areas declared off the North East coast; New safeguarded zones include Coquet Island to St Mary's Island and seas around Farne Islands

Over his career, Corgan wore many professional hats, but his first contribution to paleontology occurred while a geologist for Sinclair Oil in Alaska, where he described a new species of brittlestar from the Cretaceous of the Yukon.

Memorial to James X. Corgan, Jr

Among the list of species which people are being asked to name are a red and white tipped sea slug, an anemone, a fungus, a sand brittlestar, a hoverfly and a lichen that thinks it is a mushroom.

Chance to name a species; GREEN & GORGEOUS

2008 C[O.sub.2]--driven ocean acidification radically affects larval survival and development in the brittlestar Ophiothrix fragilis.

Food security threatened by acidifying oceans

It turns out that this brittlestar is covered with thousands of microscopic crystals made of the mineral calcite.

Animal vision revealed: many animals can see things that are undetectable to the human eye

The researchers now hope to design microlenses based on the brittlestar model and believe the lenses could be useful as components of optical networks and in chip design where they might improve optical lithography techniques.

Bell Labs to design microlenses based on optics found in brittlestars

Look closely enough at the arms of the brittlestar, a starfish relative, and you'd see that those arms are looking right back at you.

20/20 lenses coat body of sea creature

Brittlestar beds: low-predation anachronisms in the British Isles.

Keystone predation and interaction strength: interactive effects of predators on their main prey