---
title: "Western Spiny Brittle Star"
description: "Ophiothrix spiculata — Other animals. Ophiothrix spiculata, the western spiny brittle star, is a species of marine invertebrate in the order Ophiurida."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/western-spiny-brittle-star
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Western Spiny Brittle Star

> Ophiothrix spiculata — Other animals. Ophiothrix spiculata, the western spiny brittle star, is a species of marine invertebrate in the order Ophiurida.

- Scientific name: *Ophiothrix spiculata*
- Category: `other` (Other animals)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 4477
- Wikidata: [Q2664389](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2664389)
- iNaturalist taxon: [48835](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48835)

## Names

- en: Western Spiny Brittle Star
- es: Estrella quebradiza espinosa del occidente
- fr: Ophiothrix (Ophiothrix) spiculata
- it: Ophiothrix (Ophiothrix) spiculata

## Countries with the most observations

US (3639), MX (80)

## Summary

Ophiothrix spiculata, the western spiny brittle star, is a species of marine invertebrate in the order Ophiurida. It is found along the Pacific coast of North and South America from below the San Francisco Bay to Peru. Individuals come in a variety of colors, although usually with orange longitudinal stripes on the arms, and the body can measure up to 2 cm across. This species was first described by J. L. Le Conte in 1851.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiothrix_spiculata

## Photo

![Western Spiny Brittle Star](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/western-spiny-brittle-star/medium.jpg)

Photo: Alex Heyman · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/340531943

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/western-spiny-brittle-star?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).