1. When two bat stars bump into each other they begin a slow-motion “arm wrestling” match. Each sea star tries to get its arm on top of the other’s arm.
2. Bat stars are scavengers, eating dead and decaying animals on the sea floor.
3. The Bat Star relatives are sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sand dollars; Phylum: Echinodermata.
4. Bat stars reproduce by spawning. The male broadcasts sperm and the female broadcasts eggs from pores near the bases of their arms.
5. Fertilization takes place in the sea, and currents carry the young to new homes.
6. Annelid worms (Ophiodromus pugettensis) live in the arm (ambulacral) grooves on a bat star’s mouth side. Here the worms have a plentiful supply of leftover food bits. As many as 20 worms may live on one bat star, but they don’t harm the bat star—this is known as commensal symbiosis.
7. Sea stars have external hard parts (exoskeletons) made up of little plates (calcified ossicles) joined by connective tissue.
8. The bat star’s ossicles are so large and defined that they look like rough shingles. These shingles act like armor and protect the bat star’s vital organs.
9. This species is very common throughout its range and can vary greatly in color.
10. The Bat Star is also known as the Webbed Sea Star.
2. Bat stars are scavengers, eating dead and decaying animals on the sea floor.
3. The Bat Star relatives are sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sand dollars; Phylum: Echinodermata.
4. Bat stars reproduce by spawning. The male broadcasts sperm and the female broadcasts eggs from pores near the bases of their arms.
5. Fertilization takes place in the sea, and currents carry the young to new homes.
6. Annelid worms (Ophiodromus pugettensis) live in the arm (ambulacral) grooves on a bat star’s mouth side. Here the worms have a plentiful supply of leftover food bits. As many as 20 worms may live on one bat star, but they don’t harm the bat star—this is known as commensal symbiosis.
7. Sea stars have external hard parts (exoskeletons) made up of little plates (calcified ossicles) joined by connective tissue.
8. The bat star’s ossicles are so large and defined that they look like rough shingles. These shingles act like armor and protect the bat star’s vital organs.
9. This species is very common throughout its range and can vary greatly in color.
10. The Bat Star is also known as the Webbed Sea Star.