Beautiful feather star
Himerometra robustipinna
Mediterranean feather star
Antedon mediterranea
About
The Mediterranean feather star is a stalkless crinoid of the Mediterranean that catches plankton with its ten long, feathery arms.
Also known as: antedon mediterranea
- Depth
- up to 420 m
How to tell it apart
Look for a small feather star with ten feathery arms clinging to seagrass, sea whips or algae, often in groups; the colour varies from white to red and dark purple.
Appearance
Five pairs of feathery arms, about 10 cm long, and up to forty cirri to cling on with. The colour is very variable - white, yellow, orange, red, brown or dark purple, sometimes with contrasting bands.
Habitat
It lives in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas and west to the south coast of Spain and Cape St. Vincent, down to about 80 m. It favours places with strong currents, on rocky or sandy bottoms rich in algae or among Posidonia seagrass.
Behaviour
It hides during the day and comes out at night. It is gregarious and often clings to sea whips, bryozoans, algae or seagrass. It can creep on its cirri, swim by raising and lowering its arms five at a time, or 'walk' on its arm tips. When threatened it can roll up its arms, and it can regrow an arm that breaks off.
Diet
It filters plankton from the water.
Did you know?
It swims by beating its ten arms in two alternating sets of five.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
