Elegant Feather Star on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The elegant feather star (''Tropiometra carinata'') is a
Elegant feather stars are usually found singly on shallow reefs and are more abundant on deeper reefs. If displaced they may swim using their arms.
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of crinoid
Crinoids are marine invertebrates that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that remain attached to the sea floor by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms, called feather stars or comatulids, are ...
in the family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Tropiometridae.
Description
Elegant feather stars may grow to 20 cm in total length. They are variably coloured in yellow to brown and are occasionally variegated in yellow and brown. They have ten long arms with ciliated side branches that taper to a point. They have 20-30 cirri per arm.Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. ''Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa''Distribution
These animals are found off the South African coast from theCape Peninsula
The Cape Peninsula () of South Africa is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good ...
to Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
as well as circumtropically. They are seen subtidally, up to at least deep.
Ecology
Elegant feather stars are usually found singly on shallow reefs and are more abundant on deeper reefs. If displaced they may swim using their arms. Commensal
Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit f ...
organisms such as the myzostomid worm ''Myzostoma fuscomaculatum
''Myzostoma fuscomaculatum'', the crinoid worm, is a species of marine worm in the family Myzostomatidae.Lanterbecq D., Hempson T., Griffiths C. & Eeckhaut I, 2008. ''Myzostoma fuscomaculatum'' (Myzostomida), a new myzostome species from False ...
'' and the crinoid shrimp ''Hippolyte catagrapha
The crinoid shrimp, or feather star shrimpJones, Georgina. ''A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula.'' SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ''Hippolyte catagrapha'', is a species of shrimp in the family Hippolytidae
Description
Crinoid s ...
'' are found on the specimens found in False Bay
False Bay (Afrikaans: ''Valsbaai'') is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa. The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarc ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1960836 Tropiometridae Echinoderms of Brazil Echinoderms described in 1816