Five-limbed brittle stars move bilaterally, like people
Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 10:30
in Biology & Nature
Brittle stars and people have something in common: They move in fundamentally similar ways. Though not bilaterally symmetrical like humans and many other animals, brittle stars have come up with a mechanism to choose any of its five limbs to direct its movement on the seabed. It's as if each arm can be the creature's front, capable of locomotion and charting direction.