Feather+Stars

=Feather Stars=
 * They are considered echinoderms because they have pentaradial symmetry.
 * Feather Stars are in the class Crinoidea.
 * It's scientific name is Oxycomanthus benetti.

Life Cycle

 * The fertilized eggs hatch to release a free-swimming vitellaria larva.
 * The larva does not feed and lasts only a few days before settling to the bottom and attaching itself to the under surface using a sticky gland on it's ventral surface.
 * The larva metamorphisis into a stalked adult.

Eating Habits

 * They feed by filtering small food particles with their feather like arms.
 * Their mucus covered tube feet trap any food that floats past.

Habitat

 * Most feather stars live in rocky reefs.

Reproduction

 * Feather stars are dioecious.
 * They have no true gonads.
 * They produce gametes from genital canals found inside some of the pinnules.
 * The pinnules rupture to release sperm and eggs into the sea.

Adaptions

 * Crinoids underwent two periods of adaptive radiation.

Interesting Fact
They are called feather stars because of their "feathery" arms.