FISH ID - What kind of Starfish?

[tbae]

I was fishing San Clemente pier last week and caught a couple of these starfish (see pic). The total span from tip of one arm to the other end was just over my open hand's reach.

Any idea what kind of star fish this is?

Thanks!

 

[moonshine]

Looks like a brittlestar. I had one in a tank that came in with some liverock. It grew pretty well until a mantis shrimp came in and killed every living thing in the tank.
That mantis shrimp was an absolute terror. I'd hear him clicking his claw at night.

 

[Fishman Fishman]

I was fishing San Clemente pier last week and caught a couple of these starfish (see pic). The total span from tip of one arm to the other end was just over my open hand's reach.

Any idea what kind of star fish this is?

Thanks!

Brittlestar. I caught one at Belmont Pier in 2023. Very cool sea creature.

 

[Ken Jones]

A third agreement — a brittlelstar. Cool catch.

 

[TheFrood]

Looks like a brittlestar. I had one in a tank that came in with some liverock. It grew pretty well until a mantis shrimp came in and killed every living thing in the tank.
That mantis shrimp was an absolute terror. I'd hear him clicking his claw at night.

I don't know if it's true or an urban legend but I've read that they sometimes actually shatter the glass of the
tank striking their own reflections.

 

[moonshine]

I don't know if it's true or an urban legend but I've read that they sometimes actually shatter the glass of the
tank striking their own reflections.

Heard the same.

He'd pop up at night and I swear He'd be studying me with those complex eyes. He'd knock on the rocks and I'd hear him clicking.

Dubbed "sea locusts" by ancient Assyrians, "prawn killers" in Australia,[5] and now sometimes referred to as "thumb splitters" due to their ability to inflict painful wounds if handled incautiously,[6] mantis shrimp possess powerful raptorial appendages that are used to attack and kill prey either by spearing, stunning, or dismembering; the shape of these appendages are often used to classify them into groups: extant mantis shrimp either have appendages which form heavily mineralized "clubs" that can strike with great power, or they have sharp, grasping forelimbs used to swiftly seize prey (similar to those of praying mantis, hence their common name).

 

[TheFrood]

Heard the same.

He'd pop up at night and I swear He'd be studying me with those complex eyes. He'd knock on the rocks and I'd hear him clicking.

Dubbed "sea locusts" by ancient Assyrians, "prawn killers" in Australia,[5] and now sometimes referred to as "thumb splitters" due to their ability to inflict painful wounds if handled incautiously,[6] mantis shrimp possess powerful raptorial appendages that are used to attack and kill prey either by spearing, stunning, or dismembering; the shape of these appendages are often used to classify them into groups: extant mantis shrimp either have appendages which form heavily mineralized "clubs" that can strike with great power, or they have sharp, grasping forelimbs used to swiftly seize prey (similar to those of praying mantis, hence their common name).

The Oatmeal has a fairly entertaining and enlightening bit about them. Thankfully they can not survive on land and their
small size makes them less deadly to larger prey. Otherwise... Well, they would be the undisputed top of the food chain.

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp