Drift into the deep with these living fossils. π
Feather stars and sea lilies are part of an ancient group of echinoderms known as crinoids. They are distant relatives of the sea stars and sea urchins that you might find in coastal tide pools. Feather stars cling to sponges, corals, and rocks with claw-like cirri, while stalked sea lilies anchor to the seafloor with a holdfast.Β
For a hungry crinoid, the currents deliver dinner. Both feather stars and sea lilies have a crown of finely plumed arms. Those arms and their jointed branches are covered in tiny tube feet that help scuttle food into the central mouth.
MBARIβs remotely operated vehicles have captured the slow, mesmerizing movements of sea lilies swaying in the currents and feather stars paddling to fresh feeding grounds. Weβve spotted a wide variety of different crinoids, but identifying individual species from video alone is often difficult.
These observations are a reminder of the diversity of amazing animals thriving deep underwater. The deep sea is closer than you think. The choices we make in our everyday lives can safeguard the future for deep-sea animals and ecosystems.
