Chocolate-chip sea stars are famous for the rows of dark, pointy bumps that cover each of their arms. The animals really look like they’re dotted with chocolate chips. But what’s inside their arms is even more surprising, a new study finds.
Researchers have discovered tiny structures deep inside the skeleton at the tip of each arm. These channels work like mini fiber-optic cables. That’s the tech that carries internet signals around the world. In a sea star, these bony structures collect and channel light deep into the animal’s body. They might help a sea star find its way around — if enough light can get through its skin.
The overall effect “looks like short fiber-optic cables made out of their skeleton,” says Sönke Johnsen. “I was really impressed by what they found.” A biophysicist, he studies how animals sense light. He works at Duke University in Durham, N.C. and did not take part in this study.
The chocolate-chip sea star (Protoreaster nodosus) lives in shallow tropical wa...
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