Image of the Day: Feathery Fireworks

Feather stars, or crinoids, are equipped with at least five colorful arms that aren’t just for show—these marine invertebrates use their picturesque limbs to gather food.


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Four unidentified crinoids (and one partially hidden lobster) sit atop sea fans in the Meso-American Reef near Roatan, Honduras.

NOAA DEEPCAST II EXPEDITION

The Deep Coral and Associated Species Taxonomy and Ecology expedition by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) captured this image of crinoids at 400 meters below the ocean's surface near Honduras.

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