This may look like a mass of moving branches, but they are actually many arms of a single, very large, basket star.
During the daytime, basket stars can be found curled up in a web of twisted arms, such as this one at Alderdice Bank near Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
At night, they move to a high point on the reef, unravel their many arms, and trap small prey such as zooplankton with their sharp hooks.
The arms bring the prey to the animal’s underside and its star-shaped mouth.
Basket stars are echinoderms, which have tube feet, a calcite body-covering, and a five-part symmetrical body.
Other echinoderms include sea stars, sea urchins, feather stars, and sea cucumbers.
Basket stars can grow their limbs back if they are broken or chopped off by predators.
The basket star’s diet of mostly small marine organisms makes it an indicator species, meaning its health is a reflection of the environment’s health.
Hopefully you’re as excited as these scientists were when they saw this basket star in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico.
Note: This video was produced for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, which is a trustee and protector of America’s most iconic underwater parks and marine resources.
