Friday 4 June 2010

Nine legged Starfish does somersaults


Here we see a scuba diver revealing a starfish submerged in the seafloor. After the diver flips the critter over it moves into a plant like form then slothfully regains composure.

Starfish have no sharp demarcation between arms and central body, and usually move using their tube feet rather than wriggling movements of the whole arms, except after its been flipped.

Starfish belong to the classified group Asteroidea a species of the Phylum Echinodermata.  The starfish we see here is a Luidia Maculata. Tidechaser has some gorgeous images of the critter and its cousins here.

Most starfish are carnivore predators, feeding on sessile or slow-moving prey such as mollusks, clams, snails  and other starfish.


The color of the water in this video is so green and clear, it feels so scrumptious, unlike the nasty environmental degradation presently thwarting the Gulf.
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