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Image ID: 10010671
[10010671]
Caption: The brittlestar Ophiacantha from 500 m depth on the Bellingshausen Sea continental shelf. Brittlestars are amongst the most mobile echinoderms with a novel catch-connective tissue arrangement in their arms. Brittlestars are very abundant on muddy seabeds from the shallows to the deep sea; video filmed by Remotely Operated submersible Vehicles (ROVs) or cameras mounted on trawls show brittlestars carpeting the seabed. Work on shallow brittlestars by SCUBA divers suggest they may be very sensitive to small rises in sea temperature. Images taken onboard RRS James Clark Ross cruise JR230 (benthic pelagic coupling cruise).
Keywords: JR230 benthic pelagic coupling cruise | brittle star | brittlestar Ophiacantha | marine benthos
Location: Bellingshausen Sea continental shelf
Season: 2009/2010
Photographer: Pete Bucktrout
Image size (pixels): 5850 x 3366