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Brittle Stars - Blog Posts
Basket Star
Gorgonocephalus caputmedusae
The Basket Star is a strange yet elegant creature that lives in the deep ocean. It resembles a flesh white ball with gnarled and swirling branches. It thrives in locations with strong currents. Its numerous arms move slowly and wrap around prey. They are one of my favorite animals from the Echinodermata phylum.
Photo credit
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-005-0032-3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgonocephalus
Brittle Stars
Asteroschema Ajax
Brittle stars are in the phylum Enchinodermata and are closely related to sea stars. They have long stringy arms and small podia on the bottoms of their body. They also have a hydrostatic skeleton and have a complex water vascular system. When attacked, they will abandon their arm to confuse predators and make a hasty escape. The photo above is a deep sea brittle star that lives in coral reefs.
Photo credit: https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Asteroschema_ajax