Details
Lamprometra palmata
Feather stars are crinoids that spread feathery arms to catch suspended food. Clinging to coral or rock, they are most conspicuous when feeding at night.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
This species lives on reefs and ocean-facing rocky sites in the Indian and Pacific oceans. It favors places with current and firm points for attachment.
Arm span 10-25 cm; weight 5-50 g. Many branched, featherlike arms radiate from a small central disc. Clawed cirri on the underside grip rock or coral.
Nocturnal and mostly solitary, it hides by day and opens its arms into the current at night. It can crawl and may swim briefly by beating the arms.
A filter-feeder, it traps plankton and organic particles on grooves along the arms. Mucus and tiny tube feet move captured food toward the mouth.
Adults broadcast eggs and sperm into the water. Larvae drift, settle, and pass through a stalked juvenile stage before becoming mobile.
It is listed as Least Concern. Because it depends on reef currents and fine suspended food, local reef degradation can still matter.
