Astropecten scoparius

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Astropecten scoparius
Astropecten scoparius (MNHN-IE-2014-533) 02.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Asteroidea
Order: Paxillosida
Family: Astropectinidae
Genus: Astropecten
Species:
A. scoparius
Binomial name
Astropecten scoparius
Müller & Troschel, 1842 [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Astropecten japonicus Müller & Troschel, 1842

Astropecten scoparius is a sea star in the family Astropectinidae. It is found in shallow water in the East China Sea and around the coasts of Japan. It is a grey starfish and each of its five arms has a narrow pale margin. It burrows in the muddy sediments on the seabed and feeds on molluscs.

Contents

Distribution

Astropecten scoparius occurs in the East China Sea and around the islands of Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu. [1]

Biology

Astropecten scoparius is a predator and is found on the seabed in shallow water or buried in soft sediments. In Ise Bay in central Japan, it lives near the mouth of the bay, while another starfish, Luidia quinaria , predominates in other parts of the bay. Astropecten scoparius feeds largely on molluscs such as the clam Alvenius ojianus and the small gastropod Voorwindia paludinoides while Luidia quinaria is adept at catching brittle stars ( Ophiura kinbergi ) and other echinoderms. [2]

Astropecten scoparius mostly breeds between June and August. Both females and males liberate gametes into the sea where fertilisation takes place. The bipinnaria larvae that hatch from the eggs are planktonic. They are bilaterally symmetrical and have a pair of body processes, a gut and two bands of cilia which are used for swimming. They feed and grow but do not pass through a brachiolaria stage as do most starfish larvae. After about eighteen days they settle on the seabed where they undergo metamorphosis. At this stage they become radially symmetrical, each one having a single central plate, a madreporite plate, five radial and five interradial plates, and five terminal plates which are the first stage in the development of the arms. A central mouth also develops on the oral (under) surface and the juvenile starts to feed. [3] [4]

Toxicity

In some circumstances, Astropecten scoparius contains the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin, also known as TTX. This starfish accumulates lesser quantities of the toxin than does its close relative Astropecten polyacanthus . Both have been associated with cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning of humans in Japan caused by consumption of the trumpet shell Charonia lampas . It is believed that the toxin is passed through the food chain, the trumpet shell having acquired it through feeding on the starfish. [5] The starfish may themselves have incorporated TTX into their tissues through feeding on certain tiny gastropod molluscs Umborium suturale . [6]

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<i>Asterias amurensis</i> Species of starfish

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<i>Astropecten</i> Genus of starfishes

Astropecten is a genus of sea stars of the family Astropectinidae.

<i>Astropecten polyacanthus</i> Species of starfish

Astropecten polyacanthus, the sand sifting starfish or comb sea star, is a sea star of the family Astropectinidae. It is the most widespread species in the genus Astropecten, found throughout the Indo-Pacific region. The armspread is up to 20 cm (8 in). The specific epithet "polyacanthus" comes from the Latin meaning "many thorned".

<i>Astropecten aranciacus</i> Species of starfish

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<i>Oreaster reticulatus</i> Species of starfish

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<i>Luidia ciliaris</i> Species of starfish

Luidia ciliaris, the seven-armed sea star, is a species of sea star (starfish) in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Astropecten irregularis</i> Species of starfish

Astropecten irregularis is a sea star of the family Astropectinidae. Common names include Sand sea star.

<i>Astropecten bispinosus</i> Species of starfish

Astropecten bispinosus is a sea star of the family Astropectinidae from the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Astropecten jonstoni</i> Species of starfish

Astropecten jonstoni is a sea star of the family Astropectinidae.

<i>Astropecten spinulosus</i> Species of starfish

Astropecten spinulosus is a sea star of the family Astropectinidae.

<i>Luidia clathrata</i> Species of starfish

Luidia clathrata is a tropical species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is variously known as the slender-armed starfish, the gray sea star, or the lined sea star. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Archaster typicus</i> Species of starfish

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.

<i>Luidia senegalensis</i> Species of starfish

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<i>Luidia foliolata</i> Species of starfish

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<i>Ophiura albida</i> Species of brittle star

Ophiura albida is a species of brittle star in the order Ophiurida. It is typically found on the seabed in the north eastern Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea and is sometimes known as the serpent's table brittle star.

<i>Luidia quinaria</i> Species of starfish

The spiny sand seastar is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is found in shallow parts of the China Sea and in the vicinity of the Korean archipelago. The tissues of this starfish have been found to contain several secondary metabolites with medicinal potential.

<i>Patiria pectinifera</i> Species of starfish

Patiria pectinifera, the blue bat star, is a species of starfish in the family Asterinidae. It is found in the northern Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Japan, China and Russia. It is used as a model organism in developmental biology.

<i>Astropecten duplicatus</i> Species of starfish

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Astropecten latespinosus is a species of starfish in the family Astropectinidae. It is one of the commonest starfish in the seas around Japan. The name in Japanese is hira momiji, "hira" meaning flattened and "momiji" meaning maple leaves tinged with bright red, a name given to certain starfish which resemble maple leaves in form.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Mah, Christopher (2012). Mah CL (ed.). "Astropecten scoparius Müller & Troschel, 1842". World Asteroidea database. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  2. ↑ Ganmanee, Monthon; Narita, Teruyoshi; Iida, Shinya; Sekiguchi, Hideo (2003). "Feeding habits of asteroids, Luidia quinaria and Astropecten scoparius, in Ise Bay, Central Japan". Fisheries Science. 69 (6): 1121–1134. Bibcode:2003FisSc..69.1121G. doi: 10.1111/j.0919-9268.2003.00737.x .
  3. ↑ Oguro C; Komatsu M; Kano Y. T. (1976). "Development and metamorphosis of the sea-star, Astropecten scoparius Valenciennes". Biological Bulletin. 151 (3): 560–573. doi:10.2307/1540506. JSTOR   1540506. PMID   1016666.
  4. ↑ Wakabayashi, Kaori; Komatsu, Miéko; Murakami, Manabu; Hori, Isao; Takegami, Tsutomu (2008). "Morphology and Gene Analysis of Hybrids Between Two Congeneric Sea Stars With Different Modes of Development". Biological Bulletin. 215 (1): 89–97. doi:10.2307/25470686. JSTOR   25470686. PMID   18723640. S2CID   11865253.
  5. ↑ Miyazawa, K.; Noguchi,T.; Maruyama, J.; Jeon, J. K.; Otsuka, M.; Hashimoto, K. (1985). "Occurrence of tetrodotoxin in the starfishes Astropecten polyacanthus and A. scoparius in the Seto Inland Sea". Marine Biology. 90 (1): 61–64. Bibcode:1985MarBi..90...61M. doi:10.1007/BF00428215. S2CID   85216636.
  6. ↑ Shin-Jung Lin; Deng-Fwu Hwang (2001). "Possible source of tetrodotoxin in the starfish Astropecten scoparius". Toxicon. 39 (4): 573–579. doi:10.1016/S0041-0101(00)00171-9. PMID   11024497.
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