Feather Star

Crinoidea

CommonCrinoideaHarmless

ID points

Many feathery arms spread out into the current
A ring of curled cirri at the base grips rock or sea fans
Opens up at night, mostly furled and hidden by day

Basics

Family: Crinoidea
Length: 10–30 cm
Depth: 1-200 m
Regions: Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic · Temperate & polar
Distribution: Coral and rocky reefs in tropical and temperate seas worldwide
Diet: Plankton

Easily confused with

Sea AnemoneA ring of waving tentacles on top of a cylindrical body

Tube-dwelling AnemoneLives in a long soft tube of its own making

Blue StarfishEntirely saturated cobalt blue, with no other markings

Fun fact

The Feather Star is an ancient echinoderm whose feathery arms are lined with tube feet that strain plankton out of the passing current. It can anchor itself in one spot, or unfurl those arms to swim and crawl somewhere new.

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