Giant Basket Star (daylight)

The giant basket star, ''Astrophyton muricatum'', is an echinoderm found in shallow parts of the tropical western Atlantic and throughout the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It is the only species in the genus ''Astrophyton''. During the day, it curls up into a tight ball shape to protect itself from predators. At night, it climbs to an elevated point to feed by extending its intricately branched feeding arms in a bowl-like shape in order to snare passing plankton and other organisms from the current (see next spotting).