ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷_(y)əˈrȯidēə noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Ophiura + -oidea
: a subclass or class of Echinodermata comprising the brittle stars and basket stars and being distinguished from Asteroidea by the slender flexible arms that are sharply marked off from the central disc, contain neither intestinal ceca nor prolongations of the gonads, and lack ambulacral grooves and by the location of the madreporite on the ventral surface adjacent to the mouth — see euryalida , ophiurida