The long pinnule feather star

Tropiometra afra

101 ways to die (a guide for plankton visiting the reef).

No.1 Long pinnule feather star.

As you float nearer these beuatiful feather-like towers you will notice each one has hundreds of smaller side branches (pinnules). On these branches are water–filled feet that secrete glue, one long one will reach out and grab you and pass you to two smaller ones that will place you into a groove. The groove is a conveyor belt covered in even smaller arms (cilia) and, like the hands that catch you when you leap into a crowd at a concert, they will pass all the way down the starfish, to its mouth.