While some of us are rockin’ around adorning our bristly Christmas tree tops with twinkling stars, brittle stars (Class: Ophiuroidea) adorn sea floors around the world. This little star, found on the shores of western France, has relatives in the tropical reefs of Hawaii, the sediments of the Arctic, and even floors of the deep sea abyss (2.5 miles/4,000 meters below)!

From everyone at The Ethogram, with relatives and friends around the world, happy holidays and may everyone be as resilient and adaptive as these brittle stars!

[Photo and caption by Karli Chudeau]

 Cousteau, Jaques-Ives & Schiefelbein, Susan (2007). The Human, The Orchid and The Octopus. Bloomsbury. pp. 205–206.