Brittle star
Fossil
Also called Ophiuroid and Serpent star
About it
Slender, snaky arms set sharply off a small round central disc, unlike a starfish's broad arms. Slabs crowded with them come from the Jurassic of Dorset, England; others from Germany's Hunsrück Slate and Morocco.
- Type
- Fossil (echinoderm)
- Group
- Ophiuroid (echinoderm)
- Colours
- grey, brown, tan, cream
- Transparency
- opaque
- Periods
- Ordovician, Devonian, Jurassic
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.