119 — Hutton's brittle star, Ophioceres huttoni

Ophioceres huttoni, from under a rock at low tide,
Pilot Bay, Mt. Maunganui, July 2018.

This little brittle star was named after the prominent 19th century New Zealand naturalist Frederick Wollaston Hutton. Ophioceres huttoni (Farquhar, 1899), is a small and little-known brittle star. It's endemic to New Zealand and appears to have a distribution limited to the North Island.

They live under stones in sandy areas and are only about 3cm across (including tentacles), so are easily missed.

The brittle stars pictured here were found at low tide under turnable rocks in Pilot Bay, Mt. Maunganui during July 2018 (there were some 0.0 low tides). There were several under each rock I turned. They co-occur with other brittle stars and I have seen them under the same rock with Ophionereis fasciata Hutton, 1872 and Ophiopteris antipodum E. A. Smith, 1877.

Ophioceres huttoni, under rocks in Pilot Bay,
Mt. Maunganui, 16/7/2018.

Ophioceres huttoni, oral view. This is the same
example as above and is about 2cm across.

Ophioceres huttoni, same location as above,
17/7/18. This one is about 3cm across.

Ophioceres huttoni, same location as above,
17/7/18. This one is about 1cm across.

More info:

Mills et al. (2017). Extraordinary echinoderms. A guide to the echinoderms of New Zealand.