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Echinoderms

Jo O'Keefe Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved. Photos may be used for educational purposes only. Contact me with inquiries.

Sea Stars
 
Tropical Storm Hannah departed from Sunset Beach. NC, and Little River, SC, on 9/6/08. after making landfall the preceding evening. At low tide I found the island looking like Mars, with sea stars everywhere covered with sand. A woman and I rinsed them off in the inlet and sorted them.
I brought some sea stars home to save for researchers. Unfortunately, the "stone" of my aerator backed its way out of their container. Several died and broke. The grey sea star with black markings might be Astropecten duplicatus.
   
Sea Star, species unknown
Luidia clathrata, 01/19/10, Sunset Beach, NC
Luidia clathrata, striped Sea star found on Sunset Beach, 11/22/06
An unusual sea star for here, Luidia alternata, found on 09/01/06 on Sunset Beach the day after Tropical Storn Ernesto
   
Forbes Sea Star found on Sunset Beach on 11/2/06
Astropecten sp., Sunset Beach, NC, 12/04/09 -- note pair of spines like lumps at the crook of each pair of arms, and the madreporite
   
Astropecten articulatus, beaded or marginated sea star, found on Sunset Beach on 10/22/06
Astropecten articulatus, Sunset Beach, NC, 01/19/10
Luidia clathrata, Left and another Luidia, Right
Sanibel Bay Sea Star
Luidia senegalensis found on Sanibel Island, Florida
Brittle Stars
Brittle stars found on in seaweed from Edisto Beach, SC, on 3/4/07 -- they were each about four inches wide while curled.
Ophiolepsis elegans -- I think! The right one was 5" wide and found on Sunset Beach, NC, on 10/21/06
   
Brittle star, genus Ophiactis, and its disk
Brittle star mouth
Sea Cucumbers
Hairy Sea Cucumbers found on Sunset Beach, 11/2/06 -- 1st 3 photos
Hairy Sea Cucumber found on Sunset Beach, NC, 11/14/06
Hairy Sea Cucumber, Sclerodactyla briareus
Striped Sea Cucumber, Thyonella gemmata Pourtales
Unidentified sea cucumber
   
Hairy Sea Cucumber, Sclerodactyla briareus -- the one on the right is in my salt water aquarium
Sea Urchins
Sea urchin, probably Lytechinus variegatus
Sea urchin, Lytechinus variegatus, climbing wall of plastic container
Sea urchin -- this could be a juvenile Lytechinus variegatus or a short-spined species
Test of Lytechinus variegatus
This and the remaining tests are from Arbacia punctulata
   
Tests from six sea urchins, two species
Sea Urchin Anus
Aristotle's Lanterns -- Center "infrastructure" of Sea Urchin -- they are composed of five outer teeth and internal ossicles and muscles.
   
Fossil
Sand Dollars
Sand Dollars -- left, with Aristotle's Lanterns, center "infrastructure of" sand dollar
Sand Dollars -- live, emerging from sand
Sand dollars encrusted with sabellariid worm tubes
Sand Dollar Petals
Sand Dollar Tubercles
Lunule with spines