Underwater photos: basket star

Cynthia really enjoys her underwater camera, but has found that the best way to spot new and interesting things is often to read about them. I, too, found in my youth that this worked: if one is prepared to see something, one will see it.... and if one is not, the eyes and mind will entirely miss it. So, Cynthia read her reef creatures series of books and then sees these cool creatures.... like the basket star.

This critter feeds at night, crawling about and snagging little animals from the water and dragging them into it's mouth: a definite candidate for a horror film! During the day, it crawls onto a gorgonian and curls up into a tight knot, looking like a bit of rotten netting or plant material tangled in the plantlike animal.... and this is exactly what Cynthia spotted. Very cool.

PS: these pics were taken when we visited the Exumas back in February, I believe.