Indicated Featherstar

The Indicated Featherstar, Stephanometra indica, is a mobile species of crinoid. It possesses a relatively small, flattened central disc from which typically 10 unbranched arms radiate, each extending up to 20 centimetres (8 inches) in length. These slender arms are densely fringed with numerous short, feather-like pinnules, which significantly increase the surface area for feeding. Its coloration ranges from hues of red to orange, often displaying varying intricate patterns across its arms and central disc. Small, claw-like appendages called cirri are present on the aboral (underside) surface of the central disc, which the featherstar uses for temporary attachment to substrates.

This featherstar primarily inhabits reef ecosystems throughout the 🌊 Red Sea, particularly on current-swept reef slopes and among the branches of gorgonian corals and hard corals. It is typically found at depths ranging from 5 to 30 metres (16 to 98 feet). Stephanometra indica is a filter feeder, extending its arms to capture plankton and other suspended organic particles from the water column. Food particles collected by the pinnules are transported by ciliary action along grooved ambulacral areas on the arms to the mouth, located on the oral surface of the central disc. The species exhibits various forms of mobility, capable of crawling across surfaces, swimming short distances by rhythmic arm movements, and reorienting itself. It often uses its cirri to anchor firmly to elevated positions on the reef, a behaviour that allows it to efficiently intercept nutrient-rich currents.