Leptasterias aequalis: Brooding mother

Phylum Echinodermata

Class Asteroidea

Order Forcipulatida

Family Asteriidae
Formerly known as Leptasterias hexactis

My mother broods over things like what to make for dinner, but this tough mama broods all of her little sea star babies!  Instead of spawning into the water column like many of the species we have seen thus far, this little six armed sea star broods her babies under her oral disc from embryos to juveniles.  Brooding lasts anywhere from 6-8 weeks on average, after which the juvenile sea stars walk away on their own.  The mom does not feed during incubation - mom's are truly superheroes!  Previously, it has been observed that when the babies get dropped from the safe undersides of their mother (due to some accident), the mom swings back around and picks them up again.

Pictures:
In the first couple of pictures show the underside of the Leptasterias juvenile.  You can clearly see their six eye spots (red dots), their ambulacrum, primary podium, and mouth.

Videos:
The following videos show different behaviors and characteristics of juvenile Leptasterias and their mother.  The juveniles are now beginning to go off and explore the world of the Developmental Biology sea tables.
Note: some of the videos would not upload, so I have pasted their url.  Although this is a slight hassle, make sure you watch them because these babies are so cute.  You won't want to miss it!  Also make sure to read the descriptions of the videos when you watch!

Mother says no as she sweeps up a juvenile.
Observed: brooding mother recollects the juveniles when they are dropped

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC7SzEGRg4w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssh7ISF5zpM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKsvCVt9a00

-Amy Kim