I had some fun with my late-stage Patiria brachs the other day, and found this guy trucking along. Normally these larvae orient orally/aborally to the slide plane, but this one was comfortable in a kind of 3/4 perspective, swimming along. The bright orange at the top is the larval stomach, surrounded by the forming juvenile skeleton. Oriented ventral side down (left), the stomach is at the top, and the brachiolarian complex at the lower right. This video showcases the settlement behavior/orientation of pre-metamorphosis Patiria larvae, which use the adhesive palps of the brachiolarian complex (the bright blebs of tissue) to secure themselves to the substrate while the juvenile body adsorbs the larva. This larva is 3 weeks old, and was rudely removed from its happy algae-encrusted home for this video.
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