Abstract
This paper describes the food and feeding mechanisms of the bathyal brisingid sea-star Novodinia antillensis (A. H. Clark, 1934). N. antillensis is shown to be an opportunistic suspension feeder capable of capturing living planktonic crustaceans of a wide range of sizes. The sea-star extends its 10 to 14 arms into water currents to form a feeding fan with a large surface area, and uses highly retentive pedicellaria on the lateral arm spines to grasp and retain prey. The flexible arms form arm loops to complete the capture. The pedicellaria have a structure very similar to that used by other species known to capture macroscopic prey and, although they are an order of magnitude smaller, they probably function in a similar manner.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chia, F.-S., Amerongon, F. (1975). On the prey-catching pedicellaria of a starfish Stylasterias forreri (de Loriol). Can. J. Zool. 53: 48–75
Clark, A. M., Downey, M. E. (1992). Starfishes of the Atlantic. Chapman & Hall, London
Dearborn, J. H., Edwards, K. C., Fratt, D. B. (1991). Diet, feeding behaviour and surface morphology of the multi-armed Antarctic seastar Labidiaster annulatus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 77: 65–84
Dietrich, H. F., Fontaine A. R. (1975). A decalcification method for ultrastructure of echinoderm tissues. Stain Technol. 50: 351–354
Downey, M. E. (1986). Revision of the Atlantic Brisingida (Echinodermata: Asteroidea), with a description of a new genus and family. Smithson. Contr. Zool. 4. 35: 1–57
Emson, R. H., Mladenov, P. V. (1992). Field and laboratory observations of the feeding of Macrophiothrix variabilis (Lamarck) with notes on the feeding of Ophiactis savignyi (Müller and Troschel). In: Morton, B., (ed) The marine fauna and flora of Hong Kong. Proceedings of the Fourth International Marine Biological Workshop. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong, p. 769–778
Emson, R. H., Mladenov, P. V., Barrow, K. (1991). The feeding mechanism of the basket star Gorgonocephalus arcticus. Can. J. Zool. 69: 449–455
Fisher, W. K. (1940). Asteroidea. ‘Discovery’ Rep. 20: 69–306
Gage, J. D., Tyler, P. A. (1992). Deep sea biology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Hendler, G. (1982). Slow flicks show star tricks; elapsed time analysis of basket-star (Astrophyton muricatum) feeding behaviour. Bull. mar. Sci. 32: 909–918
Humason, G. L. (1979). Animal tissue technique. 4th ed. W. H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco
Hyman, L. H. (1955). The invertebrates. Vol. 4. Echinodermata. McGraw Hill, New York.
Jangoux, M. (1982). Food and feeding mechanisms: Asteroidea. In: Jangoux, M., Lawrence, J. M. (eds.) Echinoderm nutrition. Balkema, Rotterdam, p. 117–160
Lawrence, J. M. (1987) A functional biology of echinoderms. Croom Helm, London
Mortensen, T. (1927). Handbook of the echinoderms of the British Isles, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Pawson, D. L. (1976). Some aspects of the biology of deep sea echinoderms. Thalassia jugosl. 12: 287–293
Roberts, M. P., Campbell, A. C. (1988). Functional anatomy of pedicellaria from Asterias rubens L. In: R. D. Burke et al. (eds.) Echinoderm biology. Balkema, Rotterdam, p. 725–733
Roe, H. S. J., (1988). Midwater biomass profiles over the Madeira Abyssal Plain and the contribution of copepods. Hydrobiologia 167/8: 168–181
Ruff, R. R. (1991). A new species of Bathynoe (Polychaeta: Polynoidae) from the Northeast Pacific Ocean commensal with two species of deep-water asteroids. Ophelia (Suppl.) 5: 219–230
Sars, G. O. (1875). On some remarkable forms of animal life from the great deeps off the Norwegian coast. II: Researches on the structure and affinities of the genus Brisinga, based on the study of a new species B. coronata. Christiania University, Christiania
Smith, J. E. (1937). On the nervous system of Marthasterias glacialis (L.). Phil. Trans. R. Soc. (Ser. B) 227: 111–173
Tyler, P. A., Zibrowius, H. (1992). Submersible observations of the invertebrate fauna of the continental slope south west of Ireland (NE Atlantic Ocean). Oceanol. Acta 15: 211–226
Warner, G. F. (1977). On the shapes of passive suspension feeders. In: Keegan, B. F., O'Ceidigh, P., Boaden, P. J. S. (eds.) Biology of benthic organisms. Pergamon, Oxford, p. 567–576
Warner, G. F., Woodley, J. D. (1975). Suspension feeding in the brittle-star Ophiothrix fragilis. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 55: 199–210
Wilkie, I. C., Emson, R. H. (1988). Mutable collagenous tissues and their significance for echinoderm palaeontology and phylogeny. In: C. R. C. Paul, Smith, A. B. (eds.) Echinoderm phylogeny and evolutionary biology. Oxford Scientific Publications, Oxford, p. 311–330
Wood, R. L., Luft, J. H. (1965) The influence of buffer systems on fixation with osmium tetroxide. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 12: 22–45
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J. Mauchline, Oban
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Emson, R.H., Young, C.M. Feeding mechanism of the brisingid starfish Novodinia antillensis . Marine Biology 118, 433–442 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350300
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350300