feather star

noun

1. a free-swimming crinoid.

feather star

noun

1. any free-swimming crinoid echinoderm of the genus Antedon and related genera, living on muddy sea bottoms and having ten feathery arms radiating from a small central disc

Word History and Origins

Origin of feather star¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

The find by the Hollingworths, a husband-and-wife team, includes three new species and an entire ecosystem of echinoderms — a group of animals that includes starfish, brittle stars, feather stars, sea lilies, sea cucumbers and echinoids.

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Their free-floating cousins, the feather stars, were ambling by, looking to grab the same particles of food.

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Mr. Clarkson and the other researchers watched as the pilots directed the vehicle’s robotic arm to grab a modified household spatula from an internal compartment and gently wedge it under the feather star.

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Credit: James Thomas James’s team also found new species of feather star from the Oxycomanthus genus and distinctive species of nudibranch.

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Among the echinoderms, notable for being covered with spines: starfish, feather stars, sea lilies, free–swimming crinoids, brittle stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, etc., represented a complete collection of the individuals in this group.

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