GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The tube feet, shaped like pointed tentacles, are used mainly for collecting food. One tube foot passes particles to another toward the mouth. The food then passes into the stomach, where it is digested. Unlike the other echinoderms, brittle stars have no anus; they eject undigested material through the mouth.

Detailed explanation-2: -Feeding and diet They filter sand and mud from the ocean floor, feeding on detritus. Their digestive system is quite simple. They have a stomach but no intestine or anus, so any waste is excreted from the mouth.

Detailed explanation-3: -Each brittle star has a distinct central disk and five skinny, flexible arms. The central disk is made up of a skeleton of calcium carbonate and contains all the internal organs.

Detailed explanation-4: -Although brittle stars don’t have brains or eyes, they do have a large stomach, genitals, muscles, and a mouth surrounded by five jaws. A brittle star’s arms are supported by vertebral ossicles, plates made from calcium carbonate.

Detailed explanation-5: -Different species of brittle stars eat in different ways-some are suspension feeders and eat food particles suspended in the water; some are deposit feeders and feed on organic particles that settle on the seafloor; and some are active predators, detecting food by its odor.