Comaster schlegelii | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Echinodermata |
Class: | Crinoidea |
Order: | Comatulida |
Family: | Comatulidae |
Genus: | Comaster |
Species: | C. schlegelii |
Binomial name | |
Comaster schlegelii | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Comaster schlegelii, the variable bushy feather star, is a crinoid in the family Comatulidae. It was previously classified as Comanthina schlegeli but further research showed that it was better placed in the genus Comaster . It is found on shallow water reefs in the western Pacific Ocean.
The variable bushy feather star often keeps its body concealed in a crevice and the only visible part is its array of arms, especially when it is young. There are in fact five rays attached to the upper part of the body but these subdivide into a number of arms and when one of these is lost, two grow in its place. [2] The arms are flexible, being formed from many jointed calcareous small plates known as ossicles, and can be coiled up. On either side of each arm are short side branches known as pinnules. On the underside of the body are about twenty clawlike appendages known as cirri which are used to cling on to the underlying surface, but they are lost in older specimens, which attach directly using the underarms. The colour is very variable, some specimens being plain golden yellow, pale brown or black and others being multicoloured, often green with bands of orange, white and black on the arms and pinnules. [3]
The variable bushy feather star is found in shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific. Its range includes Indonesia, Fiji and Japan, [1] the Maldives and Papua New Guinea. [4] It is most common on reef crests down to a depth of about 5 metres (16 ft). [3]
Like other feather stars, the variable bushy feather star is a suspension feeder and spreads out its arms and pinnules to feed. Plankton or other organic particles that drift past are caught by tube feet on the pinnules and passed to the mouth down ciliated grooves.
Feather stars are dioecious, each individual being either male or female. The gametes are produced in specialised pinnules on the arms and fertilisation is external. The larvae drift with the plankton and pass through several developmental stages before settling on the seabed and anchoring themselves with a stalk. After metamorphosis the stalk remains intact at first but later breaks and the juvenile feather star can move around independently. [4] [5]
The variable bushy feather star is sometimes sold for display in reef aquaria, however it is not easy to meet its food requirements and most aquarium specimens sooner or later die of starvation. [6] It can be fed with brine shrimp larvae, copepods and diatoms after turning off the particulate filter on the tank. [4]
An echinoderm is any member of the phylum Echinodermata. The adults are recognisable by their radial symmetry, or pentamerous symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the sea lilies or "stone lilies". Adult echinoderms are found on the sea bed at every ocean depth, from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone. The phylum contains about 7,000 living species, making it the second-largest grouping of deuterostomes, after the chordates. Echinoderms are the largest entirely marine phylum. The first definitive echinoderms appeared near the start of the Cambrian.
Crinoids are marine invertebrates that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their juvenile form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms, called feather stars or comatulids, are members of the largest crinoid order, Comatulida. Crinoids are echinoderms in the phylum Echinodermata, which also includes the starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. They live in both shallow water and in depths as great as 9,000 meters (30,000 ft).
Articulata are a subclass or superorder within the class Crinoidea, including all living crinoid species. They are commonly known as sea lilies or feather stars. The Articulata are differentiated from the extinct subclasses by their lack of an anal plate in the adult stage and the presence of an entoneural system. Articulata first appeared in the fossil record during the Triassic period although other, now extinct crinoid groups, originated in the Ordovician.
Antedon bifida is a species of crinoid in the family Antedonidae commonly known as the rosy feather star. It is found in north west Europe.
Comaster is a genus of crinoids.
Comatulida is an order of crinoids. Members of this order are known as feather stars and mostly do not have a stalk as adults. The oral surface with the mouth is facing upwards and is surrounded by five, often divided rays with feathery pinnules. Comatulids live on the seabed and on reefs in tropical and temperate waters.
Davidaster rubiginosus, the orange sea lily, is a species of crinoid in the family Comatulidae. At one time it was classified as Nemaster rubiginosa but the World Register of Marine Species has determined that the valid name is Davidaster rubiginosus. It is found on reefs in the tropical western Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea.
Davidaster discoideus, the beaded crinoid, is a species of feather star in the family Comatulidae. It was previously known as Nemaster discoidea but the World Register of Marine Species has determined that the valid name is Davidaster discoideus. It is found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea and northern coast of South America.
Metacrinus rotundus, the Japanese sea lily, is a marine invertebrate, a species of stalked crinoid in the family Isselicrinidae. It is a species found off the west coast of Japan, and is living near the edge of the continental shelf, around 100–150m deep. This is the shallowest species among the extant stalked crinoids.
Oxycomanthus bennetti, the Bennett's feather star, is a species of crinoid belonging to the family Comatulidae. It is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific between northern Australia and southeast Asia.
Himerometra robustipinna is a species of crinoid belonging to the family Himerometridaem first described as Actinometra robustipinna by Philip Herbert Carpenter in 1881.
Comaster nobilis, the noble feather star or yellow feather star, is a crinoid in the family Comatulidae. It was previously classified as Comanthina nobilis but further research showed that it was better placed in the genus Comaster.
Antedon mediterranea is a species of stalkless crinoid in the family Antedonidae, commonly known as the Mediterranean feather star. It is found on the seabed at moderate depths in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a filter feeder and captures plankton with its long feathery arms.
Ptilometra australis, the passion flower feather star, is a species of crinoid. It is native to the coasts of southeastern Australia where it is found on reefs, in estuaries and bays at depths down to about 110 metres (360 ft).
Comatulidae is a family of comatulid crinoids. Since 2015, it replaces the family Comasteridae.
Florometra serratissima is a species of crinoid or feather star in the family Antedonidae. It is found off the Pacific coast of North America, usually in deep water.
Promachocrinus kerguelensis is a species of free-swimming, stemless crinoids. It was the only member of its genus until several species were discovered in 2023. P. keruguelensis a coldwater crinoid which is found in the seas around Antarctica and surrounding island groups, including under the sea ice.
Aporometra wilsoni is a marine invertebrate, a species of crinoid or feather star in the family Aporometridae. It is found in shallow water around the coasts of southern Australia.
Notocrinus virilis is a marine invertebrate, a species of crinoid or feather star in the family Notocrinidae. It is found in deep water in the Southern Ocean around the coasts of Antarctica and adjacent islands. A sea snail sometimes parasitizes it.
Cenometra bella is a species of crinoids belonging to the genus Cenometra. They can have up to 30 arms and can be of variable colours but are often characterised by a marked contrast between the extending free-arms and the feathery pinnules. This species clings to its support and moves around by its feet-like cirri.