Giant basket star

Astrophyton muricatum · The giant basket star is a large echinoderm living in shallow tropical waters of the western Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

Giant basket star
Photo: Jessica Rosenkrantz, CC BY-SA 4.0
Giant basket star
Photo: Jessica Rosenkrantz, CC BY-SA 4.0
Giant basket star
Photo: François Michonneau, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumEchinodermata
ClassOphiuroidea
OrderEuryalida
FamilyGorgonocephalidae
GenusAstrophyton
SpeciesAstrophyton muricatum

Where it lives

Reefs of the Caribbean and western Atlantic, from North Carolina to Venezuela.

Fun facts

  • By day it curls into a tight ball to hide from predators, then unfurls to feed at night.
  • Its branching arms can spread out to nearly a metre wide when fully extended.
  • It has eight arms that repeatedly divide into a fine, net-like mesh for catching prey.
  • When a food particle touches its arms, the tiniest branches close around it into a ball and carry it to its mouth.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).