Mariametridae
| Mariametridae | ||||||||||||
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Stephanometra indica ( Mayotte ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Mariametridae | ||||||||||||
| Clark , 1909 |
The Mariametridae are a family of hair stars (Comatulida). They occur in the tropical Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean .
features
Adult Mariametridae always have more than ten arms, mostly 15 to 40, in the genus Oxymetra around 50 to 80. The arms are pinnate and their sections are usually colored differently. The cirrus, which are used to hold on to the ground and to move, are prickly at their end links. The mouth is more or less central, the anus on the edge of the body disc.
Way of life
Feather stars of the Mariametridae family are nocturnal and spend the day with their tentacles rolled up, hidden in darkened places. When night falls, they climb to elevated positions with their cirrus to catch plankton from the water with their fan-like tentacles . They are colonized by numerous commensals and parasites , including crabs, worms, clams and snails. Small fish, such as the ghost pipefish , also use them as hiding places.
Genera
- Dichrometra AH Clark, 1909
- Lamprometra AH Clark, 1913
- Liparometra AH Clark, 1913
- Mariametra AH Clark, 1909
- Oxymetra AH Clark, 1909
- Pelometra AH Clark, 1941
- Stephanometra AH Clark, 1909
literature
- Erhardt / Baensch: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 5 , Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 2000, ISBN 3-88244-115-1
Web links
- Messing, C. (2010). Mariametridae. In: Messing, C. World List of the Crinoidea. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species Accessed July 8, 2010