#4863 · 🪼 jellyfish, starfish, worms & co

Serpent Star

🇳🇱 Gewone slangster ·Ophiura ophiura

🪼 Jellyfish, starfish, worms & co 📍 in the Netherlands

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Bernard Picton · CC BY 4.0
2. © Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
3. © Gaël Covain · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Tony Gilbert · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © Gonzalo Mucientes Sandoval · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © Bernard Picton · CC BY 4.0
7. © Frédéric ANDRE · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. © Stefan · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

Ophiura ophiura or the serpent star is a species of brittle star in the order Ophiurida. It is typically found on coastal seabeds around northwestern Europe.

base stats

NL sightings 87iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 1,191iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 87 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #17 most seen of the jellyfish, starfish, worms & co in NL.
1,191 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).

fact sheet

English: Serpent Star
Nederlands: Gewone slangster
scientific name: Ophiura ophiura
class: Ophiuroidea
order: Ophiurida
family: Ophiuridae
sightings in NL: 87
sightings in Europe: 737
sightings worldwide: 1,191
GBIF records in NL: 46,563
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1758

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 521679, Wikidata Q2223690, GBIF 2276905, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.