See text Ophiothrix is a large genus of brittle stars (Ophiuroidea) found in oceans worldwide from tropics to Arctic and Antarctic regions.
It is considered as one of the most interesting genera because of the presence of its brilliant colors and associations with coral and sponges as well.
This genus has been labelled particularly difficult with respect to taxonomy, due to a high degree of variability in characters that are described is a morphological aspect.
The fossil record of brittle stars can be traced back around 500 million years to Early Ordovician period.
Despite the fact there have been a considerable number of fossils reported from Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic periods, a startlingly little amount is known about the evolutionary history of the group.