Archive · 24 Jul 2025
Deep-Sea Brittle Stars' Journey Across the Oceans Revealed by DNA
Imagine tiny, spiny sea creatures called brittle stars living in the deep ocean, where it's cold and dark.
Scientists studied their DNA to see how they spread around the world.
These creatures have no brain, eyes, or heart, but their babies can float in the deep-sea currents for a long time.
This helps them travel great distances.
Unlike shallow waters where temperatures limit movement, the deep sea allows animals to connect.
This research helps us understand how life in the deep ocean is connected and how we can protect it.
Scientists mapped the distribution and relatedness of brittle stars across the ocean seafloors.
Brittle stars, with no brain, eyes, or heart, have inhabited the planet for over 480 million years.
The deep sea environment is very connected, allowing animals to spread over thousands of kilometers.
Brittle stars' eggs and larvae can drift in deep-sea currents for over a year, facilitating migration.
Deep-sea communities show a patchwork distribution due to high connectivity and regional extinction.
- Who
- Researchers studied brittle stars, a type of marine animal.
- What
- Research mapped the distribution and relatedness of deep-sea brittle stars across ocean seafloors.
- When
- The research was published recently.
- Where
- Across all ocean seafloors, from the coast to the abyssal plains.
- Why
- To understand how marine life evolved and dispersed across the oceans.
- Animal Studied
- Brittle stars
- Distinctive Features
- Five arms, no brain, no eyes, no heart
- Habitat
- Deep sea
- Lifespan on Earth
- More than 480 million years
- Migration Method
- Eggs and larvae drift in currents