Feather Star

Feather stars are stunningly pretty, and are definitely one of the most gorgeous species of starfish there are. I spotted a marvelous feather star, diving at Shark Point, near the Phi Phi Islands in Thailand back in November.

Feather stars (like all starfish) are beautifully symmetrical in shape -round- and usually grow to about 30cm, or one foot in diameter. A feather star looks pretty much like a round circle of feathers, with its many delicate, feathery arms that sprout out from the central disk in the middle, that is the creature's body. Underneath their body they have some grasping legs, kind of like fingers that the feather star uses to attach itself on corals and rocks. These “fingers” are called called cirri.

I spotted this beautiful feather star while diving at Shark Point, near the Phi Phi Islands in Thailand.

Feather stars are crinoids, kind of like sea lilies that don't have stalks (this is what Wikipedia has to say about crinoids). Unlike sea lilies, feather stars are able to move around. Crinoids are part of echinoderms group. Echinoderms in turn are invertebrate marine animals such as sea stars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. There are more than 550 different species of feather stars in the world.

Feather stars cannot actively catch their food. Instead they cling to corals and rocks, and rely on water movement to bring food to them. That is why they normally dwell in areas that are at least periodically exposed to strong currents. They extend their arms into the current and catch plankton from the water as it is filtered through the “feathers”

There is an abundance of beautiful corals in the Gulf of Thailand

Feather stars have way more arms then the traditional five arms associated with ordinary starfish. The amount of arms varies, but most species of feather star have about 20 arms. I counted 29 on the one in my photo. Apparently, some can even have as many as two hundred arms! Feather stars come in a wide variety of colours, ranging from bright yellow to red, orange, purple or black.

Feather stars do not normally move around very much, but they can crawl or walk using the cirri, or float and even swim if need be. Take a look at this video of a feather star swimming. It is hilarious! Like other starfish, feather stars too can regenerate their arms if they are damaged.

Feather stars can be found all over the world. Most of the different species of feather star live in the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean and Pacific, the Indo-Pacific region, where they are quite common and widespread.

Feather stars have two separate sexes, males and females, just like the rest of us. Unlike some of us, they produce eggs that then develop into tiny stalked larvae. Eventually these break off the stalk and float until they find a nice place to settle.

Thanks a million for reading. If you liked this, you might also enjoy this article that I wrote recently. Its about another dive site in Thailand, the King Cruiser wreck.