Feather Star

Feather stars are marine invertebrates from echinoderms that come under the class of Crinoidea. This group of animals includes sea stars, brittle stars, sea cucumbers and sea urchins. There are approximately 600 species of feather stars. There may be about 200 plus species of feather stars found in Papua New Guinea.  They are nocturnal species that have numerous feathery arms that radiate out from a small body. Their mouth is located on the top of their body. Feather stars use a feeding technique called passive suspension feeding in which they extend their feeding arms into the current of the water and catch food as it filters through. Today they are not uncommon and are a favorite subject of the underwater photographer because of their amazing shape and colours. The photo below was taken in Madang during biodiversity survey around Islands near.

Feather star

A pristine and untouched coral reef systems in Papua New Guinea are one of the tourist attraction scenario. Photo below is also taken in Madang during the survey.

Coral reef