Britle stars

Brittle stars are astonishing creatures similar to the sea stars. But they aren't close related.

One of the common White sea brittle stars - Ophiura robusta.

These stars gather themselves sometimes in a big numbers.

Another common species - Ophiopholis aculeata. This brittle star is bigger, it reaches 15 cm with its arms. They are very colourful!

Ophiopholis feeds on plankton catching it with its tube feet. This species hides its disc anywhere under the stone.

Ophiocantha bidentata - a deep-sea brittle star. It lives like ophiopholis but it never hides its disc. The colouring is modest.

This is the famous Arctic busket star Gorgonocephalus arcticus. This giant brittle star is extremely rare in the White sea and it is the biggest echinoderm there (over 75 cm in diameter)!

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