Oxycomanthus mirus
Yellow Ghost Feather Star
©Photo Lyle Vail and Anne Hoggett: Oxycomanthus mirus scrambling for cover after its slab of rubble had been overturned. Note the large visceral mass in the centre.
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Echinodermata
Class
Crinoidea
Order
Comatulida
Family
Comatulidae
Genus
Oxycomanthus
Species
Oxycomanthus mirus
Colours
Distinguishing features
Comasterids are distinguised from all other featherstar families by having terminal segments of the oral pinnules modified to form a comb. Comasterids a also have a distinctive "feel" due to well developed hooks on most pinnules that cause them to cling like velcro. All Oxycomanthus species have oral pinnules that end in a sharp point but this character is not useful in the field.
Oxycomanthus mirus is a large, cryptic or semi-cryptic crinoid with up to 40 long, slender arms and no cirri.
All known specimens of this species have an extremely large, flesh-coloured visceral mass.
Size
- Size data has not been obtained.
Depth range
- Depth range data is not yet available.
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Distribution and habitat preferences
Oxycomanthus mirus always has the central body hidden under a slab of rubble or within the reef. During the day, a few arm tips may be exposed.
Web resources
References
- Rowe, F.W.E., A.K. Hoggett, R.A. Birtles and L.L. Vail (1986). Revision of some comasterid general from Australia (Echinodermata: Crinoidea), with descriptions of two new genera and nine new species, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 86: 197-277. LIRS catalog number 198.