Vanderbilt Beach Brittle Star
Sue Wieber Nourse of Turtle Journal scoured Vanderbilt Beach in Naples, Florida this Monday after a stormy cold-front riled up the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. As she began strolling Vanderbilt, Sue found a brittle star tossed ashore.
Two Brittle Stars on Vanderbilt Beach
A few paces south she discovered a pair of brittle stars that had also washed up on the beach.
Three Vanderbilt Beach Brittle Stars
Like clockwork, the next batch contained three brittle stars. In fact, storms had left hundreds and hundreds of brittle stars scattered all along Vanderbilt Beach. A woman stopped Sue as she snapped photographs of these critters for Turtle Journal. “In all my years coming here to Naples I’ve never seen so many of these … ahhh … stars.”
Brittle Star and Sand Dollars
Not too far down the beach, Sue hit the metaphorical jackpot: another brittle star guarding seven sand dollars. Don’t spend them all in one place, Sue, unless you’re buying a sand castle or juicy mud pies.