Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long,
Brittle star in Kona, Hawaii
Ophiopetra lithographica from the Lower Hienheim Beds (Lower Tithonian, Upper Jurassic) near Regensburg, Germany
Asteriacites, a trace fossil of an ophiuroid; Carmel Formation (Middle Jurassic), near Gunlock, Utah; scale bar is 10 mm.