Marine scientists have shared nail-biting footage of a scallop about to be eaten for lunch by a hungry sea star.
“This video begins with a bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) sitting peacefully, peering out with its dozens of deep blue eyes,” says Nipam Patel, Director at the Marine Biological Laboratory. “Then along comes a predator, Forbes sea star (Asterias forbesi), crawling forward on its tube feet.”
The video shows the sea star using its tube feet – tiny organs on the underside of the starfish that help it move and eat – to creep slowly towards the scallop. Step by tiny step, it pulls itself onto the scallop until one arm has reached all the way to the front of the shell.
“Sensing danger, the scallop makes its escape,” says Patel. In the blink of an eye, the bivalve is gone – using a jet of water to propel itself away from the predator. Free, it bumbles around for a few seconds, almost bumping into the sea star again, before swimming away.
“While we don't usually think of scallops moving about, you see here that indeed they can jet away,” says Patel, “although not making the most graceful exit.”
Image and video credit: Nipam Patel. Filmed by BioQuest Studios at the Marine Biological Laboratory
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