CREATURE FEATURE | BRITTLE STAR

Brittle Star (Ophiothrix suensoni)

Brittle stars are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. The arms measure up to 5 inches long and the central disc up to 1 inch in diameter. Primarily nocturnal, the beautiful brittle star is plentiful at Turneffe Atoll and we often see them in and around sponges. A recent study has revealed that brittle stars move in a very unique way- they do not move according to a central axis. Rather, they move perpendicular to it using one of their whip-like limbs to point the way. To change direction, brittle stars simply use a different limb to point the way and move accordingly with the other four limbs.