# Ophiura

Ophiura is a genus of echinoderms belonging to the family Ophiuridae.
The genus has cosmopolitan distribution.

## Taxonomy

The following extant species are known:
* Ophiura acervata (Lyman, 1869)
* Ophiura aequalis (Lyman, 1878)
* Ophiura albata (Lyman, 1878)
* Ophiura albida Forbes, 1839
* Ophiura amphitrites (Bell, 1888)
* Ophiura annulata Quenstedt, 1876
* Ophiura anoidea H.L.Clark, 1923
* Ophiura atacta H.L.Clark, 1911
* Ophiura bathybia H.L.Clark, 1911
* Ophiura caledonica (Koehler, 1907)
* Ophiura calyptolepis H.L.Clark, 1911
* Ophiura carnea Lütken, 1858
* Ophiura carpelloides Rasmussen, 1972
* Ophiura clemens (Koehler, 1904)
* Ophiura crassa Mortensen, 1936
* Ophiura cryptolepis H.L.Clark, 1911
* Ophiura ctenophora (H.L.Clark, 1909)
* Ophiura cunliffei (Forbes, 1846)
* Ophiura elongata Say, 1825
* Ophiura estarensis Barbier, Debelmas & Latreille, 1957
* Ophiura falcifera (Lyman, 1869)
* Ophiura fallax Cherbonnier, 1959
* Ophiura figurata
* Ophiura flagellata (Lyman, 1878)
* Ophiura flexibilis (Koehler, 1911)
* Ophiura floscellata Hertz, 1926
* Ophiura fluctuans Koehler, 1922
* Ophiura fraterna (Lyman, 1878)
* Ophiura gagara Djakonov, 1949
* Ophiura grubei Heller, 1863
* Ophiura imbecillis (Lyman, 1878)
* Ophiura imprudens (Koehler, 1906)
* Ophiura indica (Brock, 1888)
* Ophiura innoxia (Koehler, 1906)
* Ophiura integra
* Ophiura kofoidi McClendon, 1909
* Ophiura koreni Jarshinsky
* Ophiura kunradeca Berry, 1938
* Ophiura kurilensis Baranova
* Ophiura lanceolata H.L.Clark, 1939
* Ophiura lenticularis (Koehler, 1908)
* Ophiura leptoctenia H.L.Clark, 1911
* Ophiura lienosa (Lyman, 1878)
* Ophiura ljungmani (Lyman, 1878)
* Ophiura luetkenii (Lyman, 1860)
* Ophiura lutkeni (Lyman, 1860)
* Ophiura maculata (Ludwig, 1886)
* Ophiura micracantha H.L.Clark, 1911
* Ophiura migrans
* Ophiura mimaria (Koehler, 1908)
* Ophiura minuta Risso, 1826
* Ophiura mitescens Koehler, 1922
* Ophiura monostoecha H.L.Clark, 1911
* Ophiura mundata (Koehler, 1906)
* Ophiura nana (Lütken & Mortensen, 1899)
* Ophiura neglecta Johnston, 1935
* Ophiura nitida Mortensen, 1933
* Ophiura olifex Quenstedt, 1876
* Ophiura ooplax (H.L.Clark, 1911)
* Ophiura ophiura (Linnaeus, 1758)
* Ophiura palliata (Lyman, 1878)
* Ophiura paucisquama Matsumoto, 1917
* Ophiura platyacantha McKnight, 2003
* Ophiura podica (Koehler, 1910)
* Ophiura prisca Goldfuss, 1833
* Ophiura pteracantha Liao, 1982
* Ophiura quadrispina H.L.Clark, 1911
* Ophiura robusta (Ayres, 1852)
* Ophiura rondeletii Risso, 1826
* Ophiura rouchi (Koehler, 1912)
* Ophiura sarsii Lütken, 1855
* Ophiura saurura (Verrill, 1894)
* Ophiura scutellata (Lütken & Mortensen, 1899)
* Ophiura scutulata Lütken & Mortensen, 1899
* Ophiura spinicantha McKnight, 2003
* Ophiura squamosa Baker, 1979
* Ophiura stellata (Studer, 1882)
* Ophiura stenobrachia H.L.Clark, 1917
* Ophiura tenera (Lyman, 1883)
* Ophiura tenorii (Delle Chiaje, 1825)
* Ophiura trimeni Bell, 1905
* Ophiura umitakamaruae Seno & Irimura, 1968
* Ophiura undulata (Lyman, 1878)
* Ophiura ventrocarinata Quenstedt, 1876
* Ophiura verrucosa (Studer, 1876)
* Ophiura violainae (Cherbonnier & Sibuet, 1972)
* Ophiura zebra Djakonov, 1954

### Fossil species

The following definitive fossil species are known. The genus dates back to at least the Early Paleocene with O. achatae:
* Ophiura achatae Rasmussen, 1972
* Ophiura bartonensis Rasmussen, 1972
* Ophiura bognoriensis Rasmussen, 1972
* Ophiura costata Rasmussen, 1972
* Ophiura furiae Rasmussen, 1972
* Ophiura hendleri Blake & Aronson, 1998
* Ophiura marylandica Berry, 1934
* Ophiura paucilepis Stöhr, Jagt & Klompmaker, 2011
* Ophiura pohangensis Ishida et al., 2022
* ?Ophiura sternbergica Kutscher, 1981
* Ophiura wetherelli (Forbes, 1852)

#### Former fossil species

The following species, dating back to the Early Jurassic, were originally placed in Ophiura but are now thought to belong to a different subdivision, or are at least known to not actually belong to the genus:
* Ophiura astonensis Hess, 1964
* Ophiura bridgerensis (Meek, 1873)
* Ophiura cretacea Guéranger, 1853
* Ophiura graysonensis (Alexander, 1931)
* Ophiura davisi Rasmussen, 1972
* Ophiura parviformis Küpper, 1954
* Ophiura straini Cornell, Lemone & Norland, 1991
* Ophiura texana (Clark, 1893)
* Ophiura tinurtiensis Valette, 1929
* Ophiura travisana Berry, 1941
* Ophiura utahensis (Clark & Twitchell, 1915)
* Ophiura vindobonensis Küpper, 1954