Crinoids - Also Known As Feather Stars

by B. N. Sullivan

In the previous post, about our final dives on the wreck of the Zenobia, I mentioned that we saw crinoids inside the shipwreck. As I wrote that, I realized that many readers, and especially non-divers, probably had never seen or even heard of crinoids. They're strange creatures, and I was hard pressed to describe them for that story, so I thought it would be a good idea to show readers of The Right Blue what a crinoid looks like.

The photos on this page show a crinoid known as Klunzinger's Feather Star (Lamprometra klunzingeri), a species found commonly in the Red Sea. This is not the species we saw inside the Zenobia, but these photos should work well to illustrate what a crinoid is like.

Crinoids belong to the same phylum (Echinodermata) as sea stars and urchins. The phylum name means "spiny skinned" and most members of the phylum do have some kind of spiny structures on their outer coverings.

The crinoids have feathery arms, which are jointed. They can (and do) bend every which way. The arms have rows of protrusions, called pinnules, which run the length of the arm, making them resemble feathers. The crinoids catch their food by extending their arms like a fan. Bits of plankton are caught on the pinnules.

These creatures also have a set of appendages, called cirri, that serve as feet. They can move along on the cirri a little bit, but they also use their feathery arms to propel themselves. Sometimes they bend their arms down in a sort of arc, and use them like extra legs to skitter across sand or other flat surfaces. They use their cirri to hold on tightly to whatever they decide to perch upon.

There are teeny tiny hooks on their ends of the cirri, which help them to grab onto their perch. We have seen these actually puncture a sponge enough to leave a scar. I should also add that, on occasion, we have attempted to move a crinoid from one location to another. It's fairly easy to put a gloved finger next to a crinoid's little feet, and nudge it to perch there. The trouble comes in getting the crinoid to release its hold on that gloved finger again!

Some crinoids, including the species pictured here, are nocturnal creatures. They fold themselves up into a ball and hide in crevices in the reef during daylight hours. They usually emerge from their hiding places at dusk, and situate themselves on a favorite perch -- on coral, a large sponge, a sea fan -- wherever they can anchor themselves well. Then they unfold their feathery arms and feed all night, returning again to their hiding places at first light.

Nocturnal crinoids are sensitive to light. When they are exposed to a bright light, they immediately begin to fold in their arms. For this reason, it is sometimes difficult to photograph them in their full glory, with all their arms completely outstretched. Crinoids are fairly plentiful on many reefs, so they are relatively easy to find during night dives. However what often happens is, we shine our lights around and spot a lovely crinoid, but as soon as it senses the light beam it begins to curl up. So, we switch off our lights and wait. Eventually the crinoid will unfold again, but then the photographer is lucky to get more than one or two shots before the light from the camera's strobe prompts the crinoid to fold into itself again. It takes patience to photograph crinoids.

The two photographs on this page were shot in quick succession. In the first photo, the crinoid's arms are fully extended. (Take note of its little cirri, hanging onto the coral it has chosen as a perch.) In the second photograph, the crinoid already is reacting to the light emitted by the flash during the first shot, so it's beginning to curl up. I photographed this crinoid during a night dive in the Red Sea, off the coast of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. [Click on the photos to enlarge.]