Sea lilies can be called one of the strangest creatures on earth. These are sea animals, which many confuse with plants, but it is not surprising – they look really unusual. Unfortunately, environmental degradation in the World Ocean threatens their survival.
Some of their species are able to move around. They literally walk along the seabed, however, very slowly. Predatory species of mollusks willingly include sea lilies in their diet. Sea lilies – creatures are quite fragile, they are easy to damage. But they have a rigid outer skeleton. They also have a mouth. It is located above, and tiny pseudo-extremities, similar to small claws, catch the prey passing by and send it straight there. In the Russian seas, sea lilies are also found, however, only five different species. These amazing creatures feed on, passing sea water through themselves and filtering out nutrients from it.
Warm tropical waters are home to many species of sea lilies. It so happens that on a single coral reef you can find fifty of their varieties. Their fossilized remains are in the top 10 most frequently discovered fossils. Sea lilies have 5 “hands”, but it seems that there are more of them, because they can have a branched structure. Their closest relatives are starfish and sea urchins (see 27 interesting facts about sea urchins). Sea lilies are found at depths over 9500 meters. Their fragile bodies are able to withstand the enormous pressure of the water column. Now on Earth there are about 700 species of these amazing creatures, but millions of years ago, judging by the fossilized remains, there were over 5 thousand species.
