Brooding snake star

Amphipholis squamata

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth0–347 m
Water temperature6–28 °C
Best monthsMay, August, and September
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ken-ichi Ueda · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Amphipholis squamata, common names brooding snake star and dwarf brittle star, is a species complex of brittle stars in the family Amphiuridae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Amphipholis squamata”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 695 records
February: 917 records
March: 1,818 records
April: 1,488 records
May: 2,254 records
June: 1,906 records
July: 2,038 records
August: 3,086 records
September: 2,436 records
October: 939 records
November: 834 records
December: 437 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–347 m · Deepest record: 4,268 m

0–10 m: 2,330 records
10–20 m: 948 records
20–30 m: 1,050 records
30–40 m: 1,888 records
40–50 m: 1,552 records
50–60 m: 676 records
60–70 m: 549 records
70–80 m: 278 records
80–90 m: 352 records
90–100 m: 208 records
100–110 m: 188 records
110+ m: 5,609 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 6–28 °C

6–8 °C: 85 records
8–10 °C: 92 records
10–12 °C: 250 records
12–14 °C: 270 records
14–16 °C: 25 records
16–18 °C: 13 records
18–20 °C: 4 records
20–22 °C: 7 records
22–24 °C: 2 records
24–26 °C: 3 records
26–28 °C: 10 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Thomas Dreux, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Matthew Flood, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Gavin Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Sarah Faulwetter, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Brooding snake star, Dwarf brittle star, Long-armed brittle star, Scale brittle star, Small brittle star, Tiny brittle star, brooding snake star, Brooding Snake Star, Dwarf Brittle Star, Dwarf Brittle Star, Long-armed Brittle Star, Scale Brittle Star, Small Brittle Star, Tiny Brittle Star, Scaly-armed Brittlestar, Slender-armed Serpent Star

Names in 6 more languages

German: Schuppiger Schlangenstern
Spanish: Estrella quebradiza escamosa
French: ophiure écailleuse
Japanese: Iso-komochi-kumohitode, イソコモチクモヒトデ
Korean: 양비늘거미불가사리
Simplified Chinese: 蛇尾綱

Other scientific names: Amphioplus squamata, Amphipholis appressa, Amphipholis australiana, Amphipholis elegans, Amphipholis japonica, Amphipholis kinbergi, Amphipholis lineata, Amphipholis minor, Amphipholis patagonica, Amphipholis tenera, Amphipholis tenuispina, Amphipholis tissieri, Amphiura elegans, Amphiura neglecta, Amphiura parva, Amphiura squamata, Amphiura tenera, Amphiura tenuispina, Asteria squamata, Asterias noctiluca, Asterias squamata, Axiognathus squamata, Ophiactis minor, Ophiocoma neglecta, Ophiolepis tenuis, Ophiura elegans, Ophiura neglecta

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
31,640 open-data records from 1828 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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