Scott & Jeanette Johnson, Kwajalein Unterwater
Info
Ophioderma panamense Lütken, 1859
Life cycle: Embryos hatch into free-swimming planktotrophic larvae and later metamorphose into tiny brittle stars which sink down the bottom where they grow into adult form.
Ophioderma panamensis can be found under rocks and on sand, may inhabit rocks, corals and algae. Juveniles curled their arms over the dorsal side of the disk which is white in most individuals. This behavior camouflages juveniles on the white sand under the rocks.
Two variations in body colors: brown or grey. Some specimens with white spots on the disk and all specimens with bands on the dorsal side of the arms.
Synonymised names:
Ophiocryptus granulosus Nielsen, 1932 · unaccepted (synonymised by Ziesenhenne (1955))
Ophioderma panamensis Lütken, 1859 · unaccepted (wrong ending due to confusion...)
Ophiura panamensis (Lütken, 1859) · unaccepted
Life cycle: Embryos hatch into free-swimming planktotrophic larvae and later metamorphose into tiny brittle stars which sink down the bottom where they grow into adult form.
Ophioderma panamensis can be found under rocks and on sand, may inhabit rocks, corals and algae. Juveniles curled their arms over the dorsal side of the disk which is white in most individuals. This behavior camouflages juveniles on the white sand under the rocks.
Two variations in body colors: brown or grey. Some specimens with white spots on the disk and all specimens with bands on the dorsal side of the arms.
Synonymised names:
Ophiocryptus granulosus Nielsen, 1932 · unaccepted (synonymised by Ziesenhenne (1955))
Ophioderma panamensis Lütken, 1859 · unaccepted (wrong ending due to confusion...)
Ophiura panamensis (Lütken, 1859) · unaccepted
