Star gazing
It was time for a change so I have switched my header out to a photo I took while snorkeling at Green Turtle Key in the Bahamas two years ago. Marvelous little reef area just a few steps from our hotel room.
The water was crystal clear and you could see hundreds of these Bahamian Sea Stars and sea urchins laying on the sand beds. This particular sea star was slowly moving towards the sea urchin to make it a meal. Sea Stars are not really fish, they are an echinoderm (from the Greek, meaning spiney skin) and it is related to the sand dollar. They exist exclusively in the sea and cannot be found in fresh water or on land. Most sea stars, like the Bahamian Sea Star, (also known as the Cushion Star) have five arms and can live up to 35 years, although I have seen them with 6 arms and one with 4 that looked like a cross. They are an aggressive predator under the sea, hunting mollusks and other echinoderms. Sea Stars turn their stomachs inside out to eat, which it wraps completely around its prey, until the prey is digested.
I am always amazed at the size of these creatures and although the photo does not show scale, the sea urchin is the size of a large grapefruit and the sea star was over 12 inches in diameter. I spent all afternoon snorkeling and looking at the hundreds of sea stars, sea urchins and little fish that lived there. This little guy kept popping in and out of this burrow to say hello.
Have a terrific weekend everyone and enjoy each other's company. Sea Witch
The water was crystal clear and you could see hundreds of these Bahamian Sea Stars and sea urchins laying on the sand beds. This particular sea star was slowly moving towards the sea urchin to make it a meal. Sea Stars are not really fish, they are an echinoderm (from the Greek, meaning spiney skin) and it is related to the sand dollar. They exist exclusively in the sea and cannot be found in fresh water or on land. Most sea stars, like the Bahamian Sea Star, (also known as the Cushion Star) have five arms and can live up to 35 years, although I have seen them with 6 arms and one with 4 that looked like a cross. They are an aggressive predator under the sea, hunting mollusks and other echinoderms. Sea Stars turn their stomachs inside out to eat, which it wraps completely around its prey, until the prey is digested.
I am always amazed at the size of these creatures and although the photo does not show scale, the sea urchin is the size of a large grapefruit and the sea star was over 12 inches in diameter. I spent all afternoon snorkeling and looking at the hundreds of sea stars, sea urchins and little fish that lived there. This little guy kept popping in and out of this burrow to say hello.
Have a terrific weekend everyone and enjoy each other's company. Sea Witch
