Sea Lilies and Feather Stars: Crinoidea

Physical characteristics: Orange sea lilies are feather stars with twenty to thirty-five arms that are 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) long. They are bright orange with a black stripe along the top of each arm.

Geographic range: Orange sea lilies live in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Brazil.

Habitat: Orange sea lilies live in shallow water attached to hard surfaces.

Orange sea lilies are feather stars with twenty to thirty-five arms that are 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) long. (Illustration by Emily Damstra. Reproduced by permission.)

Diet: Orange sea lilies eat plankton.

Behavior and reproduction: Orange sea lilies hide their crown during the day, only the arms and branches showing. The entire body may come out at night. The males release sperm and the females release eggs into the water, where they join. The fertilized (FUR-teh-lyzed) eggs develop into larvae, which transform into young orange sea lilies, which mature into adults.

Orange sea lilies and people: Orange sea lilies have no known importance to people.

Conservation status: Orange sea lilies are not considered threatened or endangered. ∎