More than two dozen ophiacanthid brittle stars cling to the branches of a primnoid octocoral colony on “Lafayette Guyot.” These brittle stars are thought to be suspension feeding—grabbing their food from the water column rather than feeding directly on the coral.
Brittle Star Colony
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Deepwater Wonders of Wake. Download larger version (jpg, 1.4 MB).

More than two dozen ophiacanthid brittle stars cling to the branches of a primnoid octocoral colony on “Lafayette Guyot.” These brittle stars are thought to be suspension feeding—grabbing their food from the water column rather than feeding directly on the coral.

Learn more