Comatula solaris

Comatula solaris is a species of feather star in the family Comatulidae and the type species of the genus Comatula.

Description
Comatula solaris was described by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1816. The generic name means 'having hair neatly curled', referring to the legs of the feather stars. The body contains high levels of magnesium calcite in the skeleton that makes up most of the body mass. The skeleton is composed of ossicles connecting to soft tissue and ligaments. The Comatula solaris are a species in one of two sister clades. They belong to the ten armed comatula, along with Comatula pectinata and other Comatula sp. The other clade has the twenty arm comatula, including Comatula rotalaria. Comatula solaris resemble flowering plants, with ten stiff arms and a ring of small cirri. Their arms contain hooks, developed on their pinnules, they give them the ability to cling to things. Comatula can also be divided into two categories based on how costals are arranged.

Comatula solaris are a species in which costals are united by syzygy, or two conjoined protozoa that can exchange genetic material. Their outer radials and first two brachials are also united by syzygy. Comatula solaris are stalked crinoids, and are attached to rocks or parts of the ocean floor, similar species are able to crawl, but there have been no reports of that in Comatula solaris. They are predicted to be facultatively mobile, meaning that they should be able to move if they needed to, but they don't have to.

Comatula solaris are suspension feeders, they allow water to filter through them and they feed on the small organisms that they capture. Comatula solaris are also blind, with little research being done on their nervous system it is unsure how they are aware of their surroundings. Comatula solaris can be easily compared to Comatula pectinata as they have almost identical COI sequences.

Distribution
Comatula solaris are found in marine environments only. They are found most commonly in the oceans of northern Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, and east India. The most prevalent research on Comatula solaris has taken place around Lizard Island and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. They are primarily found in exposed sandy sediment, and some have been found under rubble in sediment environments. Studies have found that they most commonly live in areas where the sea surface temperature is between 20 and 30 C and the surface salinity is between 30 and 35 PSU. Comatula solaris are typically found in shallow water with depths between 10 and 20 m, but have been found at depths of up to 500 m.