| Calliaster baccatus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Valvatida |
| Family: | Goniasteridae |
| Genus: | Calliaster |
| Species: | C. baccatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Calliaster baccatus Sladen, 1889 [1] | |
Calliaster baccatus, the cobbled starfish, is a species of starfish in the family Goniasteridae. [2]
The cobbled starfish is a large brick-coloured starfish which grows up to 200mm across. Its central area is covered with coarse granules and its upper arms are edged with large squarish tiles which may be smooth or have protruding granules. The tiles on the outer edged of the arms usually have protruding granules.
It is only found from Lamberts Bay to Port Elizabeth on the South African coast, in 9-23m. It appears to be endemic to this area.
This starfish is found on rocky reefs, mostly along the sandy margins. Its food and reproductive habits are unknown.
An echinoderm is any member of the phylum Echinodermata. The adults are recognisable by their radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the sea lilies or "stone lilies". Adult echinoderms are found on the sea bed at every ocean depth, from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone. The phylum contains about 7,000 living species, making it the second-largest grouping of deuterostomes, after the chordates. Echinoderms are the largest entirely marine phylum. The first definitive echinoderms appeared near the start of the Cambrian.
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.
The crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci, is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thorn-like spines that cover its upper surface, resembling the biblical crown of thorns. It is one of the largest starfish in the world.
The common starfish, common sea star or sugar starfish is the most common and familiar starfish in the north-east Atlantic. Belonging to the family Asteriidae, it has five arms and usually grows to between 10–30 cm across, although larger specimens are known. The common starfish is usually orange or brownish in color, and sometimes violet; specimens found in deeper waters are pale. The common starfish is found on rocky and gravelly substrates where it feeds on mollusks and other benthic invertebrates.
Ceramaster patagonicus, the cookie star, is a species of sea star. It is bright orange or yellow in colour. Its arms are short and it has no spines. It is a deep water species and lives on rocky sea beds. Its diet includes sponges.
Ophiocomina nigra, commonly known as the black brittle star or black serpent star, is a species of marine invertebrate in the order Ophiurida. It occurs in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
The purple sunstar, northern sunstar, or smooth sun star, Solaster endeca, is a species of starfish in the family Solasteridae.
Evasterias troschelii is a species of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Its common names include the mottled star, false ochre sea star and Troschel's true star. It is found in Kamchatka and the north western coast of North America.
Callopatiria granifera, the red starfish, is a southern African species of starfish in the family Asterinidae.
Fromia monilis, common name necklace starfish or tiled starfish, is a species of starfish belonging to the family Goniasteridae.
Iconaster longimanus, the icon star or double star, is a species of starfish in the family Goniasteridae. It is found in the west and central Indo-Pacific Ocean. The genus name comes from the Greek eikon, meaning portrait or image and possibly referring to the way the marginal plates frame the disc, and aster, meaning star. The specific name comes from the Latin longus manus and refers to the long, slender arms.
Marthasterias is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Both species in the genus are commonly known as the spiny starfish.
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".
Zaraapelta is an extinct genus of herbivorous ankylosaurid thyreophoran dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. The type species is Zaraapelta nomadis, named and described by Arbour et al in 2014. Zaraapelta is known from a single skull from the Barun Goyot Formation. It was found to be closest to Tarchia in the phylogenetic analysis within its description.
Asterina stellifera is one of thirty species of small bat star in the genus Asterina. It is mainly found on the east coast of South America, ranging from Cabo Frio, Brazil to Mar del Plata, Argentina. In the past decades, their numbers have depleted and are currently abundant only in the southern limit of its former range. Due to this decline, it is on Brazil’s endangered species list. It has a slow growth rate and relatively long lifespan. A. stellifera is an omnivorous generalist predator, and modifies the abundance of other invertebrates and algae in subtidal marine communities.
Fromia schultzei, commonly known as the granular starfish, is a species of starfish belonging to the family Goniasteridae. It is found on the coasts of South Africa.
Asterina pancerii, commonly known as the seagrass asterina, 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.
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.
Thromidia catalai, sometimes called the heavy starfish, is a species of starfish in the family Mithrodiidae in the order Valvatida. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region. Thromidia catalai is one of the largest and heaviest starfishes in the world. It is reported to weigh as much as 6 kg (13 lb) and have a diameter of 60 to 65 cm. This species was first described by the Australian biologists E. C. Pope and F. W. E. Rowe in 1977, the type locality being New Caledonia.
