I did the underwater video in a stretch of sea between Livorno and the island of Gorgona at a depth of over 50 meters. I was surprised to meet so many sea urchins, known as Stylocidaris affinis, ...
The Basket Star is characterized by five tentacles, each branched several times, with which it clings to the branches of the soft corals and which are opened at night to feed on. The body has a diameter that can reach 8 centimeters, with the complete opening of the tentacles the maximum width of the entire animal can reach 80 centimeters. It feeds passively with the open tentacles, in particular of planktonic microparticles.
The Martasteria or Spiny Starfish, Marthasterias glacialis, is an echinoderm of the Asteriidae family common in the Mediterranean Sea. Also called a Tank star, due to the characteristic plates bristling with thorns that distinguish it from other starfish, it has a regular shape with five arms. The body is characterized by spines of variable color: white, gray, brown, red, blue. It appears to be the largest species in the Mediterranean, capable of reaching even 85 centimeters in diameter.
Martasteria or Thorny starfish (Marthasterias glacialis Linnaeus, 1758) is one of the most common starfish in the Mediterranean Sea, it is an echinoderm of the Asteriidae family. In this video we see it lying on a cliff that varies from 41 to 49 meters deep, rich in red Gorgonians of the Paramuricea clavata species and the classic yellow sponges of the Verongia species, therefore a guaranteed show of colors at the expense, however, of the visibility of the water about two or three meters. ...
The Variable spiny starfish (Coscinasterias tenuispina) is called this because instead of the classic five arms it usually has seven. It is therefore an exception regarding the classic five-ray symmetry of echinoderms. Furthermore, as can be seen in this specimen, three of the seven arms are very small and are therefore slowly growing back. ...
In many years of scuba diving I have never encountered so many Basket star all at once. Surely there are precise reasons to justify this concentration. The reasons can be various, the most logical ones lead me to think that it is an appointment to reproduce and that in these rocks there are optimal conditions, of currents and plankton, for their life and feeding. This beautiful video, made in a single dive between Livorno and the island of Gorgona, is the demonstration of what has been stated.
Brittle or Serpentine starfish, Ophioderma longicauda, is an Echinoderm of the Ophiodermatidae species, it is one of the most common starfish in the Mediterranean Sea. In this video we see two specimens, one with a diameter of approximately 10 cm, while the second smaller one has a diameter of approximately 5/6 cm. Brittle starfish. ...