Virtual Travel-Meet a Feather Star
Feather stars, or comatulids, are echinoderms that belong to the class Crinoidea (phylum Echinodermata) which they share with the sea lilies. Unlike the latter group, however, feather stars are not obliged to remain in one place; instead they can swim or even crawl over short distances before attaching themselves to some support. Swimming movements are achieved by waving the arms up and down in a slow, controlled manner. Feather stars are widely distributed throughout tropical and warm-temperate waters, with the main center of their distribution being focused on the Indo-Pacific region. An estimated 550 species are known. By far the most striking part of a feather star's anatomy is their delicate, ostrich-plumelike arms that are usually highly colored. Some species can have more than 200 arms. Feather stars are suspension feeders and, when feeding, unfurl their arms and extend the many pinnules into the water current. Feather stars usually careful...