Beautiful feather star
Himerometra robustipinna
Bennett's bushy feather star
Anneissia bennetti
About
Bennett's bushy feather star is one of the larger feather stars of its family (Comatulidae), growing up to 30 cm. Unlike many other feather stars it is active during the day.
Also known as: anneissia bennetti, bennett's feather star
- Length
- 30 cm
- Depth
- 5–25 m
How to tell it apart
Look for a large, bushy feather star perched high on an exposed coral head in current, raised on long cirri, with arm tips often brighter than the rest.
Appearance
It has 31 to 120 feathery arms lined with finger-like pinnules, and long, robust cirri underneath. The colour varies from yellow to brown and purple, and the tips of the pinnules are often more brightly coloured than the arms.
Habitat
It is widespread in the Indo-West Pacific, from the Bay of Bengal and the Maldives to the Marshall Islands and from China to Australia. It prefers exposed coral heads in places with strong currents, most commonly at 5 to 25 m.
Behaviour
It uses its long cirri to hold on and to raise itself into a better position to catch food. Polychaete worms live on it, and it is also associated with shrimps, lobsters and fish.
Diet
A filter feeder: it holds its arms up into the water to trap detritus, phytoplankton and zooplankton.
Did you know?
Its long, robust cirri give it a raised posture that helps tell it apart from similar feather stars.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
