denise
03-29-2009, 11:58 PM
Brittle stars are a group of snake-like echinoderms that are closely related to sea stars (http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/showthread.php?t=428). They have five, slender arms that they use to move themselves across the sea-floor in a “rowing” fashion. Compared to sea stars (http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/showthread.php?t=428), brittle stars are very fast moving. They are however, more delicate than their cousins, and they are truly brittle and break easily if attacked. They do have a certain advantage though, they can regrow lost body parts, and sometimes even fragments can grow into a new individual!
Brittle stars are mainly detrivores, they eat decaying matter and plankton. Some brittle stars can also kill small animals. They push their stomach out through their mouth (located on their underside) and digest the prey externally. The nutrients are then sucked back inside with the stomach!
There are more than 2,000 species of brittle stars worldwide, found everywhere from shallow coral reefs to deep ocean trenches more than 5,000 feet below the surface. They are often quite hard to spot on coral reefs as they hide under rocks and even within other living creatures. They are nocturnal, they hide and sleep by day, emerging at night to feed.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/brittlestar_1.jpg
Blunt spined brittle star, Ophiocoma echinata, West Palm Beach.
This species is common in the Atlantic Ocean, living in shallow coral reefs off the coast of Florida and the Bahamas. In some areas, populations reach densities of several hundred individuals per square foot.
Brittle stars are mainly detrivores, they eat decaying matter and plankton. Some brittle stars can also kill small animals. They push their stomach out through their mouth (located on their underside) and digest the prey externally. The nutrients are then sucked back inside with the stomach!
There are more than 2,000 species of brittle stars worldwide, found everywhere from shallow coral reefs to deep ocean trenches more than 5,000 feet below the surface. They are often quite hard to spot on coral reefs as they hide under rocks and even within other living creatures. They are nocturnal, they hide and sleep by day, emerging at night to feed.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/brittlestar_1.jpg
Blunt spined brittle star, Ophiocoma echinata, West Palm Beach.
This species is common in the Atlantic Ocean, living in shallow coral reefs off the coast of Florida and the Bahamas. In some areas, populations reach densities of several hundred individuals per square foot.