elegant feather star
{{Short description|Species of echinoderm}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Elegant feather star at Glencairn Fan Gardens P9078452.JPG
| image_caption =
| genus = Tropiometra
| species = carinata
| authority = (Lamarck, 1816)
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true
|Antedon brasiliensis
Carpenter, 1879
|Antedon capensis
Bell, 1905
|Antedon carinata
Lamarck, 1816
|Comatula carinata
Lamarck, 1816 (basionym)
|Comatula picta
Gay, 1854
|Tropiometra audouini
AH Clark, 1911
|Tropiometra carinata audouini
AH Clark, 1911
|Tropiometra carinata carinata
Lamarck, 1816
|Tropiometra carinata clarki
Gislén, 1938
|Tropiometra carinata indica
AH Clark, 1912
|Tropiometra clarki
Gislén, 1938
|Tropiometra encrinus
AH Clark, 1911
|Tropiometra indica
AH Clark, 1912
|Tropiometra picta
Gay, 1854
}}
}}
The elegant feather star (Tropiometra carinata) is a species of crinoid in the family Tropiometridae.{{cite web |url=http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=213331 |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Tropiometra carinata (Lamarck, 1816) |website=marinespecies.org |access-date=17 September 2013}}
Description
Elegant feather stars may grow to 20 cm in total length. They are variably coloured in yellow to brown and are occasionally variegated in yellow and brown. They have ten long arms with ciliated side branches that taper to a point. They have 20-30 cirri per arm.Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa {{ISBN|978-1-77007-772-0}}
Distribution
These animals are found off the South African coast from the Cape Peninsula to Mozambique as well as circumtropically. They are seen subtidally, up to at least {{Convert|51|m|ft|abbr=}} deep.
Ecology
File:Myzostoma fuscomaculatum at Percys Hole detail.jpg
Elegant feather stars are usually found singly on shallow reefs and are more abundant on deeper reefs. If displaced they may swim using their arms. Commensal organisms such as the myzostomid worm Myzostoma fuscomaculatum and the crinoid shrimp Hippolyte catagrapha are found on the specimens found in False Bay.
References
{{Commons category|Tropiometra carinata}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1960836}}