| Luidia clathrata | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Paxillosida |
| Family: | Luidiidae |
| Genus: | Luidia |
| Species: | L. clathrata |
| Binomial name | |
| Luidia clathrata | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
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.
Luidia clathrata is a large, flattish starfish, sometimes growing to a diameter of 30 cm (12 in). It has a relatively small disc and five slender arms, which are two or three times the diameter of the disc. The upper surface of the disc and arms is clad in longitudinal rows of calcified plates called ossicles, and in paxillae, pillar-like spines with flattened summits covered with minute spinules. No plates are found along the margins of the arms, these being replaced by paxillae, but on the underside, the marginal plates are large and themselves covered with paxillae. The tube feet, found in longitudinal rows on the underside, do not have suckers, but have two swollen regions. A mouth is in the centre of the underside, with an oesophagus and cardiac stomach which can be everted. The gonads are underneath the sides of each arm. [2] Its colour is usually grey or light brown, but can be tinged with pink. The central row of plates on the upper side of the arms is usually dark grey or black. The underside of the starfish is a paler colour. [3]
L. clathrata is found around the coastlines of the western Atlantic Ocean, from Virginia south to Brazil, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. It is usually on sandy or muddy sea beds down to a depth around 40 m (130 ft), although it is occasionally found in deeper waters down to 100 m (330 ft). [3]
When L. clathrata loses part or all of an arm through predation, it can regenerate the limb. The damaged area is sealed off, and a new small arm-tip appears within a week. Subsequent development is at the rate of about 3.7 mm (0.15 in) a month, although this slows down when regeneration is nearly complete. [3] A study on the regenerative capacity of L. clathrata found that increased ocean acidification, as is likely to happen under global warming, had no significant effect on the starfish's ability to regenerate its limbs. [4]
L. clathrata is both a predator and a forager. It selectively feeds on the "coot clam", Mulinia lateralis , when it is abundant, using chemoreceptors to help it find its prey. The coot clam is the preferred food of L. clathrata in Tampa Bay in Florida. [3] [5] At other times, it feeds by ingesting sediment and straining the material through spines around its mouth, extracting food particles in the process. Its diet includes both gastropod and bivalve molluscs, foraminiferans, nematodes, ostracods, small crustaceans, and detritus. [3] It is photosensitive and mostly spends the daylight hours buried in the sediment. While buried, it sometimes everts its stomach to ingest detritus. [3]
L. clathrata spawns annually. The larvae pass through a planktonic bipinnaria stage, which lasts about a month before settling on the seabed, undergoing metamorphosis, and becoming juvenile starfish. [3]
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 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.
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.
Ophiura ophiura or the serpent star is a species of brittle star in the order Ophiurida. It is typically found on coastal seabeds around northwestern Europe.
Luidia is a genus of starfish in the family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution.
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.
Luidia magnifica, the magnificent star, is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean.
Luidia superba is a tropical species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. A single specimen was found off the Pacific coast of Colombia in 1888; the species has since been found in the Galapagos Islands. It is endemic to this area and has not been recorded elsewhere.
Mulinia lateralis, the dwarf surf clam or coot clam, is a species of small saltwater clam, a bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae. It occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
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.
Luidia senegalensis, the nine-armed sea star, is a tropical species of starfish in the family Luidiidae found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Luidia foliolata, the sand star, is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean on sandy and muddy seabeds at depths to about 600 m (2,000 ft).
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.
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.
Ossicles are small calcareous elements embedded in the dermis of the body wall of echinoderms. They form part of the endoskeleton and provide rigidity and protection. They are found in different forms and arrangements in sea urchins, starfish, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, and crinoids. The ossicles and spines are the only parts of the animal likely to be fossilized after an echinoderm dies.
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.
Luidia magellanica is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean on the coast of South America.
Echinaster is a well-studied and common genus of starfish containing ~30 species and is the second-largest genus found within the family Echinasteridae. The genera Henricia and Echinaster encompass 90% of all the species found within the family Echinasteridae. It contains 30 species, however the number of species in this genus is still debatable because of uncertainty within the genera. This genus is currently sub-divided into two sub-genera: Echinaster and Othilia, evolutionary relationships between the sub-genera is not understood. Echinaster are found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, with most species being studied in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil. The sub-genera Othilia is thought to encompass species mainly found in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil. Echinaster is often one of the most studied species within the family Echinasteridae and is often used to find evolutionary relationships.