Even A Small Star Shines in the Darkness

Wondering how to knit a brittle star? Look no further, because the lovely staff at The Loop Craft Cafe have come up with another great pattern, here. What a handsome creature!

Brittle stars are the fastest moving of all echinoderms. They crawl around on the sea floor using all five of their long, slender arms. They like to hide away around coral structures, and emerge at night to feed on plankton.Here is a bit of a gross fact for you: Brittle stars go without an anus, and eliminate their wastes through their mouth!

As their name suggests, brittle stars are pretty breakable. Far from being a handicap, it allows these nimble creatures to shed a limb or two and escape if cornered by a hungry predator like cod or haddock. They regenerate quickly, and can grow a whole new organism from just a small surviving piece. Watch some pretty footage of a crawling brittle star here.