#nanananananana bat star

[montereybayaquarium]

🎵 Twinkle, twinkle small bat star. Those tiny feet help you walk far! 🎵

Tube feet are noodle-like appendages with tiny suction cup ends that are characteristic of the critters in the phylum Echinodermata—sea stars, urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers. Those delightfully dainty feet are responsible for helping stars cruise along the seafloor, prying open shelled prey, and assisting in respiration. 

Sea stars pull water into their bodies through a hole on the top (the side opposite of the tube feet). By changing the water pressure in their bodies via this hole, called the madreporite, they can move their dozens of nifty noodle limbs. 

While our shooting stars may not be as swift as those in the sky, we shore think they shine bright!

#monterey bay aquarium #wednesday's got us seaing stars #toetally tubular feet #nanananananana bat star