[Music] this little starfish has a secret she's hiding something precious beneath [Music] her her babies these chubby Globes are her embryos and these are her larvie that have already hatched right now they look nothing like her but over the next couple of months they'll take after her in more ways than one she's called a six raid sear that's one more arm than most sea [Music] stars and she's way smaller about the size of a bottle [Music] cap she lives in Northern California's inter tidal Zone where the land and sea Collide the crashing waves and hungry Predators make it a rough neighborhood to raise kids in so she protects them under that baby bump scientists call this brooding which is an unusual behavior for this type of sea creature most sea stars and their cousins like sand dollars and sea urchins take a sort of free range approach to raising their kids they're broadcast spawners adults release enormous numbers of eggs and sperm right into the water they meet and develop into young they grow up all on their own only the luckiest make it to adulthood six raid sea star moms take the opposite approach they have fewer babies and are extremely involved in their kids' lives she carefully cleans and caresses her growing brood with her delicate feet tending to these cuties means their mom doesn't eat for three whole months because she cares so much and because the babies are literally right in front of her mouth [Music] The Growing Kids hold on to her and their siblings with these three stubby temporary limbs called brachiola arms as the lar develop they don't eat either they don't even have a mouth instead they survive off stored energy already inside them after about a month six brand new arms start to pop out [Music] and they grow their very first tube feet no they reabsorb those brachiola [Music] arms and finally begin to resemble many versions of their mom when they're big enough the precious snowflakes venture out on their own you can't stay with Mom forever with their long gangly tube feet the baby sea stars are like puppies that haven't grown into their oversized Paws yet it's time to go track down their first meal adult sea stars eat shellfish like Barnacles and snails [Music] baby sea stars go after the baby [Music] versions it's a baby eat baby world out here the tiny sea star wraps its arms around its prey and extends its St stomach into the snail shell digesting it alive some may say they're coddled but all that extra attention during those crucial early months gives these little six raid sea stars a better chance of making it [Music] big hey deep look could use some coddling too join us on patreon so we can keep making tiny ocean stories for you like how sea urchins have a tumultuous youth or how sand dollars munch on metal to keep from getting swept away enjoy [Music]