brittle star

plural brittle stars

1. Any of various echinoderms, of the class Ophiuroidea, that resemble starfish and have long, slender arms that regenerate when snapped off.

   Recently, explorers discovered a seamount near Antarctica covered in tens of millions of brittle stars packed ray tip to ray tip, in a massive underwater ‘city’, alongside other strange species such as giant bubble gum coral.

   2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, Granta Books, published 2013, page 48

   Synonyms: ophiuroid