Davidaster rubiginosus
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| Davidaster rubiginosus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Crinoidea |
| Order: | Comatulida |
| Family: | Comatulidae |
| Genus: | Davidaster |
| Species: | D. rubiginosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Davidaster rubiginosus | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Davidaster rubiginosus, the orange sea lily, is a species of crinoid in the family Comatulidae. At one time it was classified as Nemaster rubiginosa but the World Register of Marine Species has determined that the valid name is Davidaster rubiginosus.[1] It is found on reefs in the tropical western Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea.
The orange sea lily is a stalkless crinoid. It has twenty to thirty five arms 10 to 20 centimetres (3.9 to 7.9 in) long radiating from the calyx, a cup-like body with a lid, the tegmen. Each arm is feather-like and has many pinnules projecting alternately from one side and the other. These have an ambulacral groove on the oral surface which is continuous with the groove on the arm. The arms are usually orange with yellow curved up tips but there is some variation in colour and they are sometimes white with black tips. The grooves are black.[2] The arms and pinnules are composed of a series of jointed plates and there are three tube feet at each junction. The tube feet produce strands of mucus which trap plankton. Food particles are passed along the grooves by cilia to the mouth which is at the centre of the tegmen.[3]