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Friday, 25 September 2015

Firebrick Starfish

Image: Richard Ling
Asterodiscides truncatus
Who knew bricks could look so pretty!

Or, indeed, starfish.

Image: John Turnbull
The Firebrick Starfish is a ludicrously attractive species which lives around Australia and New Zealand.

Image: John Turnbull
It reaches at least 12 cm (5 in) across and is, every inch, gorgeous! And yet very little is known about them.

Image: Richard Ling
They're completely covered in lumps and bumps of all sizes, in yellow, orange and purple colours.

Image: John Turnbull
Also their arms each end in extra-large, bulbous, blobs. Those are just weird.

Once you get past their incredible good looks, Firebrick Starfish seem to be very down-to-earth and perfectly normal starfish. They don't let their beauty get to their... head. Not that they have one.

Image: John Turnbull
They hang out on the seabed with their seabed chums...

Image: Richard Ling
Munch on bryozoans...

Image: Richard Ling
And fit in just fine with even the most surreal sights of the sea floor, like these bouquets of Sea Tulips.

Image: Richard Ling
They're like star-shaped patches of magic in the sea. So nice to see a starfish try out a bit of extravagance for a change!

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