I’m Walkin’ Here! Brittle Star and Fish Filmed in Tense Standoff

Diver Jules Casey in a July 23 Instagram video captured a standoff between a brittle star and a fish when their paths collided on the sandy floor of Victoria’s Port Phillip Bay. Casey told Storyful she was night diving near Blairgowrie Pier when she spotted the brittle star moving across the sand. “I thought it might be looking for a place to hide from my torch light,” she said. “I could see a little fish watching as the brittlestar moved towards it. The brittle star doesn’t have eyes but I wondered if it could sense the fish in front of it.” In the video, the brittle star stops right in front of the fish and appears to wait for its finned foe to move. However, the fish refuses to budge. After spending seconds locked face to face, the fish flinches, prompting the brittle star to navigate its way around its opponent. Casey said she had never seen such a “stubborn” interaction before and found it “quite adorable”. Credit: Jules Casey via Storyful