31 A star is born

Here it is, Nietzsche’s dancing star born from chaos: The brachiolaria, a larval stage of starfish, makes you think of the famous Zarathustra quote. It is in fact the second development stage that the stars of the deep go through: Their eggs are fertilised in the water and grow to become symmetrically-looking planktonic larvae. As soon as the swimming phase is over, the brachiolaria settle at the seafloor. Three arms and a sucker attach them while starting from this sucker, the five-armed starfish arises.

Photo: Solvin Zankl