brittlestar vs St. James' shell

Amphiura chiajei compared with Pecten maximus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	brittlestar	St. James' shell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Echinodermata (Echinoderms)	Mollusca (Mollusks)
Class	Ophiuroidea (Ophiuroidea)	Bivalvia (Bivalvia)
Order	Amphilepidida (Amphilepidida)	Pectinida (Pectinida)
Family	Amphiuridae	Pectinidae
Genus	Amphiura	Pecten
Species	Amphiura chiajei	Pecten maximus

Evolutionary Relationship

brittlestar and St. James' shell share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

brittlestar

LC — Least Concern

St. James' shell

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	brittlestar	St. James' shell
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.

St. James' shell

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (China), Europe (8 countries), and South America (Chile).

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.

St. James' shell

St. James' shell (Pecten maximus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden