R ARMS OF BRITTLESTAR, CARIBBEAN
Brittle stars are among children's favorite echinoderms. Unable to bite, they do not sting, are not slimy and can be easily picked up. Exposed on the reef crest at low tide, a careful, slow turning over of larger pieces of coral rubble will normally reveal wiggling, colorful specimens trying to escape further down in the rubble. It's essential for novice divers to turn over coral rocks on the bottom slowly, as otherwise swirling sediments easily obscure the view of small marine animals. Kjell photographed brittle stars in all the rainbow colors and designs. This one posed as the letter "R".