This sawtooth featherstar (Oligometra serripinna: diameter 20 cms.) had its arms extended fully in order to catch microplankton passing in the current, which it would then pass to the central mouth. Featherstars look a bit like plants, but they are in fact animals. Every featherstar can walk, using its root-like cirri, although this mode of transport is used for short distances only. The cirri also attach the animal to the substrate. If an individual decides to go on a longer journey, it launches itself into the current and swims, with graceful undulations of its many arms. Egyptian Red Sea.

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Size: 4743px × 3108px
Location: Near Hurghada, Egypt
Photo credit: © Terence Dormer / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: adventure, coral, creation, diving, egypt, featherstar, feeding, feeds, life, marine, microplankton, natural, oligometra, red, reef, sawtooth, scuba, sea, selection, serripinna, trd5143, underwater