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Basket stars at Klein Tafelberg
I have only ever seen basket stars in the Tafelberg Reef complex. They are found elsewhere, but I haven’t dived anywhere else they are found. After the first dive I did on Tafelberg, I was so excited that I started yelling as soon as my head popped out of the water. These creatures are magnificent, and appeal to me as a (former) mathematician.
Basket star on Tafelberg Reef
Their long arms branch repeatedly, like fractals. In the image above, the arms are folded in. To feed, the basket star extends one or all of its arms into the water column to catch plankton and other microscopic snacks. They favour areas with currents that carry food past them.
Basket star arm
Basket stars are related to brittle stars and starfish (they are echinoderms), and are generally found in deeper water. At Tafelberg Reef they are found on the sides of the large granite outcrops that comprise the reef. They grow incredibly slowly and can weigh a couple of kilograms when at maximum size.
Feeding basket star
2 Comments
Dive sites: MFV Orotava « Learn to Dive Today
05 Oct 2011 06:10 am
[...] surge, which was particularly violent that day. Next to me, on some small sea fans, were two baby basket stars. This is the first time I’ve seen them in False Bay (I think they are found at several of the [...]
Sea life: Basket stars (up close) « Learn to Dive Today
16 Nov 2011 08:11 am
[...] to Georgina Jones’s wonderful reference guide, basket stars are usually seen clinging to sea fans, bt they may cling directly to the rocks or the reef when [...]
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