click image to see the next echinoderm

Starfish larva lack the internal skeleton and spines. This image shows a front-view on the left and a side-view on the right. In the center of the left specimen the mouth opening can be seen. The bulb below is the stomach. The white curled lines that run across the outline of the creature are ciliated bands. These cilia enable the larva to swim very elegantly through the plankton while feeding on small algae.

More about the development can be found in Growth of a starfish

If you have red and blue 3D glasses you can see a unique stereoscopic image of this larva in The institute for the promotion of the less than one millimetre