What does a brittle star look like?

brittle star, also called serpent star, any of the 2,100 living species of marine invertebrates constituting the subclass Ophiuroidea (phylum Echinodermata). Their long, thin arms—usually five and often forked and spiny—are distinctly set off from the small disk-shaped body.

Can brittle stars bite?

Do brittle stars bite? While brittle stars have mouths surrounded by five jaws, and larger species of them may attack smaller sea creatures, they do not bite. In that sense, you are very safe from them.

How can you tell brittle stars apart from sea stars?

In sea stars, it’s located on the “top” (or aboral, meaning opposite of the side of the mouth). In brittle stars, it’s located on the “bottom” (or oral side). But, let’s be honest—it’s way easier to tell them apart by looking at their arms (see above). There you have it!

Where does a brittle star live?

Brittle stars live on spiny sponges and other sessile animals at the bottom of the deep sea, as well as by themselves and in abundant masses directly on the seafloor.

What does the brittle star eat?

Brittle stars feed on detritus and small oceanic organisms such as plankton, small mollusks, and even fish. Some brittle stars will raise themselves on their arms, and when fish get close enough, they wrap them in a spiral and eat them.

Are brittle stars carnivores?

Other brittle stars are carnivores that use their arms to sweep tiny creatures to their mouths. Yet others are scavengers, nibbling on their food with their jaws or using the tube feet near their mouth.

What do brittle stars eat?

Being omnivores (mainly detritivores), a brittle star diet is composed of decaying plant matter, plankton, krill, and small fish. Serpent stars use their arms to get a good hold of their food before pushing their stomachs through their mouths to consume their prey.

Do brittle stars have tube feet?

They have tube feet on their underside, like sea stars, but the feet do not have suction cups at the end and are not used for locomotion—they are used for feeding and to help the brittle star sense its environment.

Do brittle stars have a central disk?

Brittle stars have a distinct central disc and (usually) five skinny, flexible arms. The central disk (approximately 2.5 cm in diameter in the species Ophiura sarsii) consists of a skeleton of calcium carbonate and contains all the brittle stars’ internal organs.

How do brittle stars breathe?

Brittle stars are bottom feeders, consuming small organic material found on the sea floor. Respiration occurs through cilia-line sacs located between the arm bases on the central disk.

Do brittle stars lay eggs?

Spawning. Spawning is the most common way brittle stars reproduce. Male and female brittle stars release sperm and eggs, respectively, into the water. Fertilized eggs develop into four-armed swimming larvae called ophioplutei.