I didn’t know this, but some fossils are alive, and some of them can even swim!
This fossil that you can see swimming in the video is actually a marine invertebrate and was filmed in Thailand by Pro diver Els van den Eijnden from the Netherlands. While these creatures are not exactly rare, it is rare to see them swimming as they are usually only seen clinging to coral rocks in shallow waters.
Feather stars, also know as Crinoids (their scientific name) have featherlike arms that extend from a central body. They’re ancient too and date back about 200 million years, according to Tomasz K. Baumiller, a professor of paleontology at the University of Michigan.
Baumiller said, “Feather stars are thought of as living fossils. They have a tremendous diversity that traces its roots deep down in the geological past.”, according to National Geographic.
The feather star is classed as an animal and they’re everywhere. They be found near the Equator, near the poles, in shallow waters on top of reefs and they can also be found deep down in the world’s oceans.
Although the particular feather star in video is swimming, not all of them have the capability.
They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes too! Colors range from deep reds to vibrant oranges and electrifying yellows and their arms can grow up to a foot long.
Feather stars have between 5 and 200 arms and they can also shed some of them in a similar way that lizards shed their tails. Its not known why this is but they probably do this when they are attacked by a predator. Some of them are toxic too to protect from getting eaten, so treat them like jelly fish and stay well away!