From the Deep

Not all stars are the same. In a previous post I talked about basket stars and how unique of a species they are in comparison to your typical sea star, Brittlestars are closely related to basket stars just with a few less appendages and a lot more colour.

Brittle stars (Ophiuroidea) are a group of echinoderms that resemble starfish. There are about 1500 species of brittle stars alive today and most species inhabit marine habitats with depths greater than 1500 feet. There are a few species of shallow water brittle stars. These species live in the sand or mud just below the low tide mark. They often live amongst coral and sponges as well. These stars inhabit all the world's oceans and live in a variety of climate regions including tropical, temperate and polar waters.

Brittle stars have a star shaped body and have five long flexable arms that join together at a central body disk. The arms are clearly delineated from the central body disk, and in this way brittle stars can be distinguished from starfish (starfish arms blend with the central body disk such that it is not easy to delineate where the arm ends and the central body disk begins).

Brittle stars feed on organic material on the sea floor, they are primarily scavengers although some species occasionally feed on small invertebrate prey. Typically brittle stars live for about 5 years.

In the Pacific Northwest finding and photographing Brittle stars can be challenging most of the species live under rocks and hidden within the reef, look for their colourful arms protruding out from under rocks and crevices and then set up your shot.

Good luck and happy hunting.

Scott

For more stories and images - http://www.scottstevensonphotography.ca/