| Culcita novaeguineae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: | C. novaeguineae |
| Binomial name | |
| Culcita novaeguineae Müller & Troschel, 1842 [1] | |
| Synonyms | |
See text | |
Culcita novaeguineae (common name, cushion star) is a species of starfish. It has short arms and an inflated appearance and resembles a pentagonal pincushion. It is variable in colour and can be found in tropical warm waters in the Indo-Pacific.
C. novaeguineae has numerous synonyms, at least in part because it has a "goniasterid" phase; the juveniles exhibit little resemblance to the mature form, and gradually change in morphology as they grow. A number of different "species" were described in the literature before they were found to be different developmental stages of the same species. Some were even considered to be in a different family, the Goniasteridae, rather than in the correct family, Oreasteridae. [2]
A mature C. novaeguineae is pentagonal to subglobose in shape with an inflated appearance and much-abbreviated arms. It can grow to a diameter of 30 cm (12 in). Rows of tube feet are on the underside, and it has a central mouth. The colour is very variable and includes a mottling with darker and lighter shades of fawn, brown, orange, yellow and green. [3] The armoured body wall is made of calcareous ossicles which are supported internally by pillars which buttress the ambulacra. The armouring contains pits into which the tube feet can be retracted. The body cavity is filled with water. [4] On the dorsal face, they can be covered with small conical tubercles, as well inside as outside of papular areas. [5]
Small cushion stars are very different in appearance. They are star-shaped, with five short, broad arms and a low profile. As they grow, the inter-arm areas fill in and expand relative to the tube-feet areas, and the arms get shorter relative to the disc which becomes inflated and more massive. [2]
C. novaeguineae is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Its range extends from Madagascar and the Seychelles to the Philippines, New Guinea (for which it is named), Australia and Hawaii. [1]
C. novaeguineae feeds on detritus and small invertebrates, including stony corals. [3] It can be kept in a reef aquarium of sufficient size stocked with suitable corals on which it can feed. [6]
A number of organisms live in or on C. novaeguineae. The small shrimp Periclimenes soror lives as a commensal hiding under the cushion star. [3] Astroxynus culcitae, Stellicola oreastriphilus and Stellicola parvulipes are copepods which live parasitically on the outside of the cushion star. [1] The star pearlfish ( Carapus mourlani ) sometimes lives as a commensal inside the cushion star, working its way into the large body cavity through an ambulacral groove and emerging periodically to feed. [7]
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.
Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long, slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to 60 cm (24 in) in length on the largest specimens.
The Valvatida are an order of starfish in the class Asteroidea, which contains 695 species in 172 genera in 17 families.
The Echinasteridae are a family of starfish in the monotypic order Spinulosida. The family includes eight genera and about 133 species found on the seabed in various habitats around the world.
Astropecten is a genus of sea stars of the family Astropectinidae.
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".
Culcita is a genus of cushion stars. They are found in tropical waters. Some are kept in home aquariums.
Culcita schmideliana, commonly known as the spiny cushion star, is a species of pin-cushion star. It has a variety of base colors and often patches of a different color. It is pentagonal in shape and lives in the tropical Indo-Pacific. This species is rarely kept by hobby aquarists.
The Oreasteridae are a family of sea stars in the class Asteroidea.
Culcita coriacea, commonly known as the Arabian cushion star, is a species of pin-cushion star.
Astropecten irregularis is a sea star of the family Astropectinidae. Common names include Sand sea star.
The star pearlfish, Carapus mourlani, is a species of slender, ray-finned fish in the family Carapidae. It normally lives inside a starfish or a sea cucumber.
Certonardoa semiregularis is a species of sea star in the family Ophidiasteridae.
Gorgonocephalus eucnemis is a species of basket star in the class Ophiuroidea. It is found in circumpolar marine environments in the Northern Hemisphere. The scientific name for the genus comes from the Greek, gorgós meaning "dreadful" and cephalus meaning "head", and refers to the similarity between these basket stars and the Gorgon's head from Greek mythology with its writhing serpents for hair. The specific name eucnemis is from the Greek "good" and "boot".
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.
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.
Pterasteridae is a family of sea stars in the order Velatida, consisting of eight genera.
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.
Ophiactis savignyi is a species of brittle star in the family Ophiactidae, commonly known as Savigny's brittle star or the little brittle star. It occurs in the tropical and subtropical parts of all the world's oceans and is thought to be the brittle star with the most widespread distribution. It was first described by the German zoologists Johannes Peter Müller and Franz Hermann Troschel in 1842. The specific name honours the French zoologist Marie Jules César Savigny.