Beautiful feather star
Himerometra robustipinna
Elegant feather star
Tropiometra carinata
About
The elegant feather star is a feather star of up to 20 cm with ten long arms, found in warm seas around the world.
Also known as: tropiometra carinata, black and white sea lily
- Length
- 20 cm
- Depth
- up to 51 m
How to tell it apart
Look for a yellow to brown feather star with ten long arms tapering to a point, usually alone on shallow reefs.
Appearance
It has ten long arms with side branches that taper to a point, and 20 to 30 cirri. The colour ranges from yellow to brown, sometimes variegated yellow and brown.
Habitat
It occurs off the South African coast from the Cape Peninsula to Mozambique and in warm seas around the world, including the western Indian Ocean and the western Atlantic (Oman, Colombia, Brazil and the Caribbean). It lives among coral communities from the shallows to at least 51 m.
Behaviour
It hides during the day. On shallow reefs it is usually seen alone, and it is more abundant on deeper reefs. If it is dislodged it can swim with its arms.
Did you know?
In False Bay, South Africa, small worms and crinoid shrimps have been found living on it.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
