| Asterina pancerii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Valvatida |
| Family: | Asterinidae |
| Genus: | Asterina |
| Species: | A. pancerii |
| Binomial name | |
| Asterina pancerii (Gasco, 1876) [1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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Asterina pancerii, commonly known as the seagrass asterina, [2] is a species of starfish in the family Asterinidae. It is native to shallow parts of the Mediterranean Sea where it is usually found in seagrass meadows.
Asterina pancerii is a very small starfish, seldom exceeding 1 cm (0.4 in) in diameter. It is pentagonal with five short, broad arms scarcely differentiated from the disc. The somewhat inflated aboral (upper) surface is covered by a mosaic of tiled plates each bearing a small tuft of three to eight regularly spaced crystalline spines. The marginal plates are fine, some bearing pedicellariae, and the tips of the arms have long, slender sensory tube feet and inconspicuous eyespots. The aboral surface is a radially symmetric star-shape of red, pink, purple and white plates; the oral (under) surface is a plain colour matching the main colour of the aboral surface. [2]
Asterina pancerii is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It is most common on the Mediterranean coasts of Spain, France and Italy, but has also been reported from the coasts of Tunisia, Libya, Malta, Greece, Crete and Turkey. Some of these populations in the eastern Mediterranean may turn out to be a new species when genetic testing is done. Asterina pancerii appears to be a rare species, but this may be because it is seldom noticed because of its small size and unobtrusive behaviour. It usually occurs in seagrass meadows, particularly Posidonia oceanica . Although most frequently seen at depths between 3 and 9 m (10 and 30 ft), it sometimes occurs in deeper meadows at down to 40 m (130 ft). [2]
Asterina pancerii is probably a predator, feeding on micro-organisms on the surface of the seagrass blades. It is a sequential hermaphrodite, starting life as a female and later becoming a male. [2] The eggs are deposited on the substrate where, after being fertilised, they are brooded by the female. They undergo direct development, with no planktonic larval phase, and crawl away from the female when sufficiently large. [2]
Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish are also known as asteroids due to being in the class Asteroidea. About 1,900 species of starfish live on the seabed in all the world's oceans, from warm, tropical zones to frigid, polar regions. They are found from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths, at 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the surface.
Solaster paxillatus, the orange sun star, is a species of starfish found at varying depths in the northern Pacific Ocean. It is a natural predator of the starfish Asterias amurensis.
Astropecten aranciacus, the red comb star, is a sea star of the family Astropectinidae. It is native to the east Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Asterina phylactica is a species of sea star. It can be found in geographically widespread sites around the British Isles and in the Mediterranean Sea. It has five arms, is about 1.5 cm across and is of a green colour with central brown markings. The species was formally described in 1979 and is very similar to Asterina gibbosa.
Patiria miniata, the bat star, sea bat, webbed star, or broad-disk star, is a species of sea star in the family Asterinidae. It typically has five arms, with the center disk of the animal being much wider than the stubby arms are in length. Although the bat star usually has five arms, it sometimes has as many as nine. Bat stars occur in many colors, including green, purple, red, orange, yellow and brown, either mottled or solid. The bat star gets its name from the webbing between its arms, which is said to resemble a bat's wings.
Paracentrotus lividus is a species of sea urchin in the family Parechinidae commonly known as the purple sea urchin. It is the type species of the genus and occurs in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Astropecten bispinosus is a sea star of the family Astropectinidae from the Mediterranean Sea.
Astropecten spinulosus is a sea star of the family Astropectinidae.
The purple sunstar, northern sunstar, or smooth sun star, Solaster endeca, is a species of starfish in the family Solasteridae.
Archaster typicus is a species of starfish in the family Archasteridae. It is commonly known as the sand star or the sand sifting star but these names are also applied to starfish in the genus Astropecten. It is found in shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific region.
Stylasterias is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Stylasterias forreri, the velcro star, is the only species in the genus. It is found on the Pacific coast of Canada and the United States.
Echinaster spinulosus, the small spine sea star, is a species of sea star found in shallow parts of the western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
Asterina gibbosa, commonly known as the starlet cushion star, is a species of starfish in the family Asterinidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Astropecten duplicatus, the two-spined sea star, is a starfish in the family Astropectinidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Trophodiscus almus is a species of starfish in the family Astropectinidae. It is found in fairly deep waters in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan and around the Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is very unusual among starfish in that it broods its young on its upper surface. Its common name in Japanese is "Komochi-momiji".
Luidia maculata is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae in the order Paxillosida. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region. It is commonly known as the eight-armed sea star because, although the number of arms varies from five to nine, eight arms seems to be the most common.
Parvulastra vivipara, the Tasmanian live-bearing seastar, is a tiny, uniformly orange-yellow seastar, up to 15 mm (0.6 in) across. The species usually has five short arms and is a rounded, pentagon shape. Morphological variation is common and three, four or six arms are occasionally present. It is endemic to coastal waters in southeast Tasmania.
Echinaster callosus, the warty sea star or the banded bubble star, is a species of starfish found in shallow parts of the western Indo-Pacific region. The disc and five slender arms are covered with white, pink, red or violet warts, often forming transverse bands of colour on the arms.
Echinocyamus pusillus, commonly known as the pea urchin or green urchin, is a species of sand dollar, a sea urchin in the family Fibulariidae, native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It buries itself in gravel or coarse sand at depths down to about 1,250 m (4,000 ft).
Luidia savignyi is a species of starfish belonging to the family Luidiidae. The species is found in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific region. It is a large starfish and preys on other echinoderms.