brittlestar vs Panhandle Prickly-pear

Amphiura chiajei compared with Opuntia polyacantha

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	brittlestar	Panhandle Prickly-pear
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Echinodermata (Echinoderms)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Ophiuroidea (Ophiuroidea)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Amphilepidida (Amphilepidida)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Amphiuridae	Cactaceae
Genus	Amphiura	Opuntia
Species	Amphiura chiajei	Opuntia polyacantha

Conservation Status

brittlestar

LC — Least Concern

Panhandle Prickly-pear

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	brittlestar	Panhandle Prickly-pear
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

brittlestar

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

Panhandle Prickly-pear

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Australia and Czech Republic.

brittlestar

The Brittlestar (Amphiura chiajei) is a species in the genus Amphiura. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.