2
Menu
Home
$1.39 Sale
My Library
My Account
Pocketmags Puzzles
Pocketmags Plus+
Title A-Z
Category A-Z
Latest Offers
Gift Vouchers
Activate a Subscription
Help & Support
CA
0
Basket
My Account
My Library
Login
Plus+
BEST SELLERS
OFFERS
Hobby & Craft
Aviation & Transport
Leisure
General Knowledge
Sport
SITE SETTINGS
GBP - £
USD - $
AUD - $
CAD - $
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
LIGHT MODE
DARK MODE
Categories
Art & Photography
Art
Design
Architecture
Photography
Aviation & Transport
Motorbikes
Flying & Aviation
Automotive
Railways
Family and Home
Kids
Parenting
Pets
Food
DIY
Gardening & Lawn Care
Property
Home Decor
Food and Drink
Cooking & Baking
Drink
Vegetarian & Vegan
Gluten Free & Special Diets
General Knowledge
History & Facts
Astrology
Education & Literary
Spiritual & Religion
Trade & Professional
National & Regional
Books
News & Current Affairs
Health & Fitness
Medical
Running
Women's Health & Exercise
Men's Health & Exercise
Weight Loss & Diet
Spirituality & Wellbeing
Hobby & Craft
Collecting
RC Cars & Vehicles
Scale Modelling
Sewing & Knitting
Woodworking
Arts & Crafts
Leisure Interest
Travel
Sailing
Poker & Gambling
RV & Caravan
Camping and Outdoor
Movie & Television
Tattoo
Horse & Equestrian
Animal
Men's Interest
Fashion
Gay
Movie & Television
Men's Health & Exercise
Motorbikes
Automotive
Soccer
Fishing & Angling
Gaming
Gadgets
Newspapers
All
Music
Classical
Heavy Metal
Alternative
Rock
Pop
Practical & Playing
Hi-Fi
Sport
Soccer
Cycling
Rugby
Cricket & Golf
Football Programmes
Angling & Fishing
Guns & Archery
Boxing & MMA
Equestrian
Other
Boards & Watersports
Running & Atheltics
Racing
Ski & Snowmobile
Outdoor & Adventure
Tech & Gaming
Apple
Gaming
Internet
Gadgets
PC
Mobile
Trade & Professional
Finance & Money
Building & Architecture
Military & Defense
Education & Teaching
Media
Retail News
Farming & Agriculture
Catering
Business
Transport
Politics
Travel
Women's Interest
Hairstyles
Celebrity Gossip
Bridal & Wedding
Lifestyle
Healthy Food & Diet
Fitness
SITE SETTINGS
GBP - £
USD - $
AUD - $
CAD - $
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
LIGHT MODE
DARK MODE
Digital Subscriptions
>  
Blog
>
DEATH BY SUFFOCATION
You are currently viewing the Canada version of the site.
Would you like to switch to your local site?
Home
$1.39 Sale
My Library
My Account
Pocketmags Puzzles
Pocketmags Plus+
Title A-Z
Category A-Z
Latest Offers
Gift Vouchers
Activate a Subscription
Help & Support
Gift Cards
$5
$10
$25
$50
View All
Read on any device
Safe & Secure Ordering
< 
Back to Blogs
DEATH BY SUFFOCATION
Posted November 19, 2015
Shrimps were gradually disappearing into starfish – something strange was going on in the Philippines. LISA COLLINS investigates
SWIMMING SLOWLY over the reef investigating the nooks, crannies, sandy spits and rocky bottom, my eyes were drawn to a starfish with beautiful, mesmerising filaments that waved about in the current. I had never seen one like it.I couldn’t identify the starfish but its colouring was unusual, bright orange and red with whitish blotches. As I looked more closely, it seemed as if the filaments were catching prey. I watched in fascination as a tiny shrimp became entangled in a sticky frond and was then wrapped up by several other fronds before being reeled down towards the “skin” of the starfish. Here, in some Alien-like process, the shrimp was absorbed, tail first, into the skin. Freakishly, its large eyes were the last part to be absorbed. Was this some unusual type of feeding pattern I had not heard of before? I knew that starfish can be voracious predators that feed in several different ways. The mouth is centrally placed beneath it, where it is protected, and the digestive system covers not only the mouth but also part of the arms.
Benthic comb jellyfish appearing to shoot out fronds.
OVER THE NEXT FEW days of diving in Anilao in the Philippines I kept my eye out for more starfish. Spotting lots of bright blue Linckia, I examined them to see if they too fed this way, but they didn’t. Eventually I found another starfish similar to the first, covered in the white fronds. This time I had a macro lens on, so I settled in to watch in the hope of capturing an example of this behaviour. Sure enough, after a few minutes a tiny shrimp, carried by the slight current, swam into the path of the starfish. Very quickly the fronds seemed to reach out and catch the shrimp, quickly rolling it up as if it was a body being rolled into a carpet for Mafia-type disposal. Retracting the fronds, the shrimp was slowly pulled back towards the body, where a globule of skin seemed to envelope it. It was quite distressing to see the shrimp’s eyes looking at me as it gradually disappeared. Finally the eyes too were enveloped, and I could only think that the shrimp was being suffocated to death.
The shrimp is caught and is gradually absorbed.
ONCE BACK IN THE UK reviewing my images, I decided to do some more research. I contacted several marine biologists, but none of them had seen the behaviour before, or could offer any type of explanation. After weeks of research, I finally stumbled on something that amazed me. It seemed it was not the starfish itself that was feeding, but a type of benthic Ctenophora that was living communally with it.Ctenophora are comb jellyfish and these examples, called Platyctenida, are the only benthic, or bottom-dwelling, sedentary comb jellyfish group in the range. Normally comb jellies are seen in the water column around the world, pulsating and trailing long tentacles behind them. They are named for their unique feature of plates of giant fused cilia, known as combs, which run in eight rows up and down their bodies. Sometimes these combs generate a psychedelic display of rainbow colours, when reflected light is scattered in different directions by the moving cilia. These ancient animals are thought to have roamed the oceans for at least 500 million years. With sizes up to 15cm, Ctenophora have flattened, oval bodies and look very much like nudibranchs or flatworms. In fact they are often mistaken for such animals, as all but one species of Platyctenida lack the profusion of tentacles I had witnessed. Some have no visible tentacles, only pores along the back, and most have only two tentacles, with branching side tentacles. Being cryptically coloured, they are normally fairly well camouflaged, blending in well on the rocks, algae and soft coral on which they usually live. They use their mouth as a muscular foot to move onto subjects and cling to them, living symbiotically with their host. Thought to be asexual, they can self-fertilise, so populations can grow quite fast. I was surprised by this, because they seem to have been discovered only around 1999, and are rarely reported. Perhaps this is because they are so often mistaken for flatworms. Another theory is that they are very fragile because they don’t have to endure rough coastal waters. Many are so fragile that they cannot be collected for scientific research. They are also food for more than 150 marine species.
SOME BUT NOT ALL comb jellies sting, but benthic Ctenophora, instead of releasing venom when their nematocysts fire on touch, release a sticky glue instead. One species does use venom by recycling nematocysts from hydrozoans it eats. I was quite pleased not to be accidentally touched by a tentacle while I was photographing them, just in case this was a stinging type.This starfish I had seen had been almost completely covered in the brightly coloured comb jellies, which were almost flat, so it was little wonder that I had mistaken them for starfish-skin. Looking at other images of starfish I had taken on the same trip, I discovered one showing two starfish shrimp on the top of a starfish, with a side-branching comb jelly also on it! Perhaps they are a lot more common than thought – it’s just that we don’t “see” them! From now on, I’ll keep a close look-out for starfish and see if they are carrying their deadly hitch-hikers.
Most read articles this month
Basket -
0 items
Your basket is currently empty.
Continue Shopping
Basket Total:
$
0.00
 Earning
0
Loyalty Points
Each Point is worth 1 penny or unit of currency and can be redeemed against future purchases here at Pocketmags.com
Got a discount code? Add it in the next step.
Checkout Securely
Continue Shopping
Or, read for just
$1.39
with
You can enjoy:
The issue in your basket
Instant access to 600+ titles
Thousands of back issues
30 days for just $1.39
TRY PLUS+ FOR $1.39
30 days access, then just $13.99 / month. Cancel anytime. New subscribers only.
Learn more
Chat
X
Pocketmags Support
Contact Us
Use the form below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Send a copy of chat messages
Send Message
Message Sent
Many thanks for your enquiry.
One of our support staff will get back to you soon.
Start New Chat
Close Chat
Error In sending Email
We could not send your ticket at this time, please try again later
Start New Chat
Close Chat