Digestion / Feeding:
The mouth of N. novaecaledoniae is in the central disc on the underside of the body. This oral surface is in continual contact with the substrate. The mouth leads into a short oesophagus, which expands into a large cardiac stomach that occupies the majority of the central disc (Ruppert et al. 2004). The stomach diverges into long, hollow pyloric ceca within each arm. This aids nutrient transport, as the stomach is spread throughout the entire body. Nutrients are able to diffuse from the stomach into the body cavity (Ruppert et al. 2004).
N. novaecaledoniae initially digests its food outside of its body by expelling its cardiac stomach through its mouth onto the prey. The animal will excrete digestive enzymes and begin to ingest the prey. The star is able to engulf partially digested prey by retracting the stomach (Ruppert et al. 2004).
N. novaecaledoniae is both an active carnivore and scavenger. The star will happily feed on small invertebrates, but preferably molluscs. Although this star is thought to be an active predator, its speed does limit what prey it can source (Ruppert et al. 2004).
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