Brittle stars

These are the photos of brittle star taken in the south of Qatar at the Golden beach, Sealine.Brittle stars is closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion. They generally have five long, slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to 60cm (24 in) in length on the largest specimens. They are also known as serpent stars containing two large clades. Brittle stars are also common members of reef communities, where they hide under rocks and even within other living organisms. Brittle stars’ skeleton is made up of embedded ossicles.Brittle stars generally mature in two to three years, become full grown in three to four years, and live up to 5 years. Using their arms for locomotion, brittle stars move fairly rapidly by wriggling their arms which are highly flexible and enable the animals to make either snake-like or rowing movements. However, they tend to attach themselves to the sea floor or to sponges or cnidarians, such as coral.— Text and pictures by Khaled Zaki, a diving consultant, PADI ambassador, and UW photographer @khaledzakidiving