Brittle Star stumps grow new arms, can arms grow new stars?

[trigger0214]

I suspect a definite NO on this one...but I have been surprised before.

Anyway, I picked up a few new brittle stars last night and one of them has lost a large portion of one of its legs....I suspect I should pull this decapitation out of the tank. However, I as curious as to the question above?

 

[wally311]

I've never seen one grow a new body, but I had a small orange star loose a leg and a week later it died. However, the leg continued to live and cruise around my reef for another 3 or 4 months!

 

[MattM]

In general, the part with the mouth will recover. If the remainder survives, it will eventually starve.

 

[Anonymous]

Generally, if you chop a starfish in half, you get two starfish. What determines whether a portion survives is the percentage of the center that is attached to the leg. I think in nature, if 12% (don't quote me on that) of the center remains attached to the leg it can grow a new starfish.

 

[wombat1]

The leg on one of mine lived about 15 min before becoming stiff.

 

[LFS42]

I saw 1 leg live for months at the store.
a trigger ate the rest, but didn't finish the star off.




It was cool
But, no I don't think an arm will regrow a new starfish.


next question, what do radio D.J.'s listen to at work?

 

[Casie]

Steromandan's Linkia

 

[ophiuroid]

We're talking about different beasts here. Brittlestars/serpentstars can not do this. The arm may continue to move, much like the tails of geckos and things that fall off to amuse a predator.

Certain seastars, such as Linckia, can grow a new animal from part of the arm (but the animal basically controls when it is healthy enough to do this). Certain other seastars can, but need a certain amount of the disk...otherwise the disk will regrow the arm, and the arm may survive for a few months, but will die.

 

[Will C1]

once i had a crab eat the top off one of my brittle stars the top middle was completly gone 8O you could see right through the mouth to the sand below it did live however and regrew it self i was impressed.

 

[ophiuroid]

They are really amazing critters. Brittlestars get a lot of feeding injuries...basically, they often eat too much and food breaks right through the top of the disk. This is the general explanation IMO for most unexplained holes in the disk of brittlestars. But if the star is otherwise healthy, they can regrow it, sometimes within 1 to 2 weeks.

Here's one of mine:

More here (at the bottom of the page):
The Ophiuroidea: Tabloids!

 

[Casie]

cool! =)