Oersted's brittle star

Ophiothrix (Ophiothrix) oerstedii

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth1–10 m
Water temperature14–29 °C
Best monthsFebruary, May, and June
How commonOccasional

All species

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 33 records
February: 68 records
March: 51 records
April: 54 records
May: 78 records
June: 98 records
July: 47 records
August: 65 records
September: 47 records
October: 43 records
November: 57 records
December: 40 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–10 m · Deepest record: 50 m

0–10 m: 45 records
10–20 m: 3 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 14–29 °C

12–14 °C: 9 records
14–16 °C: 59 records
16–18 °C: 22 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 353 records
22–24 °C: 24 records
24–26 °C: 67 records
26–28 °C: 95 records
28–30 °C: 55 records

Names and classification

English: Oersted's brittle star

Other scientific names: Ophiothrix oerstedii, Ophiothrix orstedi

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.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,085 open-data records from 1877 to 2025.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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