Gorgonocephalus arcticus basket star. A basket star is a specialised kind of brittle star. Its branching arms coil in a basket shape to catch plankton at night, though this species is also able to actively trap prey with the spines on its arms. Brittle stars are marine invertebrates that are related to starfish. They have five flexible arms radiating from a central disc-shaped body. Photographed in the Russian Arctic, in the White Sea.