Knowra Basket star Basket star A basket star is a brittle star whose arms branch repeatedly into a dense, basket-like network. It spreads this network to capture plankton and other suspended food.
Brittle star : A marine echinoderm with a central disc and five slender, flexible arms. Basket stars are a specialized kind of brittle star, sharing its basic body plan.
Echinoderm : A marine invertebrate in the group that includes sea stars, sea urchins, and brittle stars. Basket stars belong to this broader animal group and share its distinctive body organization.
Gorgonocephalus eucnemis : A large basket star found in cold northern Pacific waters. This species illustrates the broad, repeatedly branching arms characteristic of basket stars.
Marine snow : Falling organic particles in the ocean, including dead organisms, fecal matter, and other debris. Basket stars can intercept drifting organic material as well as living plankton.
Suspension feeding : A feeding strategy that captures food particles suspended in water. Basket stars spread their arms into currents to intercept suspended food.
Ophiuroidea : The echinoderm class comprising brittle stars and basket stars. This class contains basket stars and distinguishes them from true sea stars.
Astrophyton muricatum : A Caribbean basket star that commonly lives on reefs and gorgonians. Its conspicuous nighttime feeding posture shows how basket stars deploy their arms.
Coral reef ecology : The study of interactions among organisms and environments on coral reefs. Reef-dwelling basket stars feed from currents and may shelter among reef structures.
Tube feet : Small, usually retractable appendages used by echinoderms for movement, attachment, or feeding. Tube feet along the arms help handle food particles caught in the branching network.
Central disc (echinoderm) : The compact central body region of a brittle star, distinct from its arms. The arms branch outward from this disc, which contains most of the basket star's organs.
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