| Luidia magellanica | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Paxillosida |
| Family: | Luidiidae |
| Genus: | Luidia |
| Species: | L. magellanica |
| Binomial name | |
| Luidia magellanica Leipoldt, 1895 [1] | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
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.
Luidia magellanica occurs subtidally in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, on the coasts of Peru and Chile. Its typical habitat is on rock bottoms with encrusting red algae, Lithophyllum , or soft sediments composed of coarse sand and shell fragments. [2]
Luidia magellanica is a large and aggressive specialist predator of other echinoderms. Its diet includes brittle stars such as Ophiactis , sea urchins such as Tetrapygus niger and starfish such as Patiria . [3] In the subtidal zone of temperate Chile it feeds on eight different species of echinoderm, and with Meyenaster gelatinosus is the dominant predator. Many of the starfish in this zone have missing or regenerating arms, and this is likely to be as a result of a near-lethal encounter with either L. magellanica or M. gelatinosus. Both of these species also exhibit cannibalism. [4] When attacked by M. gelatinosus or by a larger member of its own species, L. magellanica tends to autotomise some 4 to 5 cm (1.6 to 2.0 in) of a single arm. In a study off the coast of Chile, between 50 and 70% of individual L. magellanica were found to have regenerating arms. [5]
Other species of starfish recorded in the same zone in the cold waters off Peru are Patiria chilensis , Stichaster striatus and Meyenaster gelatinosus. [6] L. magellanica plays an important role in the control of grazing echinoids, and such factors as El Niño events can alter the population dynamics. If fewer L. magellanica are recruited because of temperature and other factors, more grazers such as Tetrapygus niger survive, and barren areas occur. Alternatively, when more of the starfish are present, fewer grazers cause less damage and the kelp flourishes unchecked. [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.
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.
The Asterinidae are a large family of sea stars in the order Valvatida.
The Brisingids are deep-sea-dwelling starfish in the order Brisingida.
Psilaster andromeda is a species of starfish in the family Astropectinidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it occurs at abyssal depths.
Henricia is a large genus of slender-armed sea stars belonging to the family Echinasteridae. It contains about fifty species.
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.
Henricia lisa is a species of starfish in the family Echinasteridae found in deep water in the northern Atlantic Ocean.
Phyllochaetopterus prolifica is a species of marine polychaete worms that live in a tube that it constructs. It is native to shallow waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean and forms colonies of tubes on rocks and submerged objects.
Patiria chilensis is a species of starfish in the family Asterinidae. It is found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean along the coasts of South America. It is a broadly pentagonal, cushion-like starfish with five short arms.
Stichaster striatus, the common light striated star, is a species of starfish in the family Stichasteridae, found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. It was first described by the German zoologists Johannes Peter Müller and Franz Hermann Troschel in 1840.
Meyenaster is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae. It is a monotypic genus and the only species is Meyenaster gelatinosus which was first described by the Prussian botanist and zoologist Franz Julius Ferdinand Meyen in 1834. It is found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean on the coasts of South America.
Heliaster helianthus, the sun star, is a species of Asteroidea (starfish) in the family Heliasteridae. It is found in shallow water rocky habitats and in the kelp forests off the Pacific coast of Ecuador, Peru and Chile.
Tetrapygus is a genus of sea urchins in the family Arbaciidae. It is a monotypic genus and the only species is Tetrapygus niger which was first described by the Chilean naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782. It is found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean on the coasts of South America.
Echinaster luzonicus, the Luzon sea star, is a species of starfish in the family Echinasteridae, found in shallow parts of the western Indo-Pacific region. It sometimes lives symbiotically with a copepod or a comb jelly, and is prone to shed its arms, which then regenerate into new individuals.
Henricia sexradiata is a species of starfish in the family Echinasteridae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Paraleptopentacta elongata is a species of sea cucumber in the family Cucumariidae. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and parts of the Mediterranean Sea. It is an infaunal species, occupying a burrow in the seabed, from which its anterior and posterior ends project.
Asterias argonauta is a starfish native to the Pacific coasts of Far East Russia.
Asterias microdiscus is a starfish native to the Pacific coasts of Far East Russia.
Asterias versicolor is a species of starfish native to the southern coasts of Japan southwards to the South China Sea.