feather star

noun

1. a free-swimming crinoid.

feather star

noun

1. any free-swimming crinoid echinoderm of the genus Antedon and related genera, living on muddy sea bottoms and having ten feathery arms radiating from a small central disc

Word History and Origins

Origin of feather star¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

The find by the Hollingworths, a husband-and-wife team, includes three new species and an entire ecosystem of echinoderms — a group of animals that includes starfish, brittle stars, feather stars, sea lilies, sea cucumbers and echinoids.

From New York Times

Their free-floating cousins, the feather stars, were ambling by, looking to grab the same particles of food.

From BBC

Mr. Clarkson and the other researchers watched as the pilots directed the vehicle’s robotic arm to grab a modified household spatula from an internal compartment and gently wedge it under the feather star.

From New York Times

Credit: James Thomas James’s team also found new species of feather star from the Oxycomanthus genus and distinctive species of nudibranch.

From Scientific American

Among the echinoderms, notable for being covered with spines: starfish, feather stars, sea lilies, free–swimming crinoids, brittle stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, etc., represented a complete collection of the individuals in this group.

From Project Gutenberg