page_title: Brittle star
section_title: Human relations
hierarchical_section_title: Brittle star / Human relations
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Une ophiure noire (Ophiocoma erinaceus) observée à la Réunion.
context_page_description: Brittle stars or ophiuroids are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long, slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to 60 cm in length on the largest specimens. They are also known as serpent stars; the New Latin class name Ophiuroidea is derived from the Ancient Greek ὄφις, meaning "serpent".
  The Ophiuroidea contain two large clades, Ophiurida and Euryalida. Over 2,000 species of brittle stars live today. More than 1200 of these species are found in deep waters, greater than 200 m deep.
context_section_description: Brittle stars are not used as food, though they are not toxic, because of their strong skeleton.
  Even if some species have blunt spines, no brittlestar is known to be dangerous, nor venomous. There is no harm evidence towards humans, and even with their predators, brittlestars' only mean of defense is escaping or discarding an arm.
caption: Tropical black brittlestar (Ophiocoma erinaceus) held in hand at Reunion island.
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