Ophiuroidea Gray, 1840

Okanishi, Masanori, Oba, Yuichi & Fujita, Yoshihisa, 2019, Brittle stars from a submarine cave of Christmas Island, northwestern Australia, with description of a new bioluminescent species Ophiopsila xmasilluminans (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) and notes on its behaviour, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 67, pp. 421-439 : 423

Class Ophiuroidea Gray, 1840 Superorder Ophintegrida O’Hara et al., 2017

Order Amphilepidida O’Hara et al., 2017 Suborder Ophiopsilina Matsumoto, 1915 Superfamily Ophiopsiloidea Matsumoto, 1915 Family Ophiopsilidae Matsumoto, 1915 Genus Ophiopsila Forbes, 1843

Type species. Ophiopsila aranea Forbes, 1843 .

Other included species. O. abscissa Liao, 1982 , O. annulosa ( Sars, 1859) , O. bispinosa A. M. Clark, 1974 , O. brevisquama Koehler, 1930 , O. californica A. H. Clark, 1921 , O. caribea ( Ljungman, 1872) , O. dilatata Koehler, 1930 , O. fulva Lyman, 1878 , O. glabra Koehler, 1930 , O. guineensis Koehler, 1914 , O. hartmeyeri Koehler, 1913 , O. maculata ( Verrill, 1899) , O. multipapillata Guille & Jangoux, 1978 , O. multispina Koehler, 1930 , O. novaezealandiae Baker, 1974 , O. pantherina Koehler, 1898 , O. paucispina Koehler, 1907 , O. picturata Koehler, 1930 , O. platispina Koehler, 1914 , O. polyacantha H. L. Clark, 1915 , O. polysticta H. L. Clark, 1915 , O. riisei Lütken, 1859 , O. seminuda A. M. Clark, 1952 , O. squamifera Murakami, 1963 , O. timida Koehler, 1930 , O. vittata H. L. Clark, 1918 (see also taxonomic history mentioned in the Introduction above).

Diagnosis. Extremely long tentacle scales that cross on the mid-line of the oral side of arm; arm spine articulations of lateral arm plates with two smooth, parallel, straight lobes; in the proximal space between them a short ridge; inner side of the lateral arm plates with two merged knobs.