Brisingid Sea Stars

Brisingid Sea Stars

A Brisingid sea star (possibly Novodinia pacifica?) encountered during a cable lay survey at the Oregon Offshore site, 600 m water depth. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF, ROPOS Dive 1743, V14.

The Brisingidae are a family of deep-sea sea stars, named after Brísingamen, a necklace belonging to Freya from Norse mythology that was stolen by Loki and hidden in the sea. Brisingids have more than five arms and a small, circular disc that is clearly separated from the arms by a deep groove (similar in appearance to a brittle star). The arms are long, flexible, and tapering, with tube feet and crossed pedicellariae on the underside. They often position their arms vertically above their discs to filter feed on suspended organic particles that fall down from surface waters.

Large brisingids have been seen in soft sediments at the Oregon Offshore and Slope Base sites, often located near or on the seafloor cables during cable surveys.

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisingidae