# Ophiocantabria

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***Ophiocantabria*** is an extinct genus of [brittle stars](/source/Brittle_star) that lived during the early [Devonian period](/source/Devonian) in what is now the [Furada Formation](/source/Furada_Formation) of [Spain](/source/Spain). It contains a single species, ***O. elegans***, which was first described in 2015 from a complete specimen.

## Discovery and naming

The only known specimen of *Ophiocantabria* was collected in the village of [El Fresno](/source/El_Fresno_(Grado)), located in the [Cantabrian Mountains](/source/Cantabrian_Mountains) of northern Spain. The deposits from which the fossil originates represents a poorly-exposed section of the [Furada Formation](/source/Furada_Formation) covered partly by vegetation, which dates to the early [Lochkovian](/source/Lochkovian) stage of the [Devonian](/source/Devonian) period. In 2015, paleontologists Daniel Blake, Samuel Zamora and Jenaro Garcia-Alcalde described a new genus and species based on this specimen, which they named *Ophiocantabria elegans*. The [generic name](/source/Generic_name_(biology)) references the Cantabrian Mountains where the fossil was discovered, while the [specific name](/source/Specific_name_(zoology)) is [Latin](/source/Latin) for "elegant". The only known specimen of this species has been designated as the [holotype](/source/Holotype), and is housed in the geology museum of the [University of Oviedo](/source/University_of_Oviedo) where it is cataloged as DPO 33484.[1]

## References

1. Blake, Daniel B.; Zamora, Samuel; García-Alcalde, Jenaro (2015-07-31). ["A new Devonian asteroid-like ophiuroid from Spain"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287735956). *Geologica Acta*. **13** (4): 335–344. [doi:10.1344/GeologicaActa2015.13.4.6](https://doi.org/10.1344/GeologicaActa2015.13.4.6). [ISSN 1696-5728](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1696-5728)

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