Jewels of the sea

What are Feather Stars ?

are they stars made of feather...

They are plant-like, but are truly animals.

In a World of global warming oceans, Feather Stars might be the winners !

These are the jewels of the seas, feather dusters floating with the currents. Their name, feather star, tells us about the stars and the feathers. Softness and glitter in an ocean of blue. A true tale that no poet has ever written. In fact, we do not know any stories about these fluffy stars. And yet, like their close cousins, the starfishes, they should hold our attention as they could seduce us. But it is not badly guided or badly informed that we do not find them in the biggest aquariums of the world, but because their beauty can not acclimatize of such an environment. In fact, we are still very ignorant about crinoids, their scientific name. But what are they exactly? A star made of feather? Or feathers made stars?

Crinoids are inhabited by crabs, shrimp, fish and even marine worms. These symbiotes do not only benefit from protection and hugging (remember that crinoids have very few predators), but by clinging and living around the central disk, they are assured of a permanent supply of food without disturbing their host excessively. The most remarkable feature of these symbiotes is actually their mimicry of color: they adopt the color of their host.