Ophidiaster ophidianus

Ophidiaster ophidianus, the purple starfish, is a species of starfish from the East Atlantic (from mainland Portugal and the Azores down to the Gulf of Guinea) and the Mediterranean Sea.[2][3] It has a big variation in colour (from red to orange) and may present brown spots.[4][5] The central disc is small, covered by irregular plates,[6] and the arms are thinner near the central disc. Each arm has lines of respiratory papillae.[7] It can reach 40 cm in diameter.[7]

Ophidiaster ophidianus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Asteroidea
Order: Valvatida
Family: Ophidiasteridae
Genus: Ophidiaster
Species:
O. ophidianus
Binomial name
Ophidiaster ophidianus
Lamarck, 1816
Synonyms[1]
  • Asterias ophidiana Lamarck, 1816
  • Ophidiaster canariensis Greeff, 1872
  • Ophidiaster aurantius Gray, 1840

References

  1. "Ophidiaster ophidianus (Lamarck, 1816)". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  2. "Ophidiaster ophidianus, purple seastar". www.sealifebase.ca. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  3. "description of Ophidiaster ophidianus - Purple starfish". www.european-marine-life.org (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  4. Marques, V. M. (1983), Arquivos do museu Bocage (Série A). Vol. II, nº 1, pgs 1-12 "Peuplements Benthiques Des Açores I – Echinodermes" (PDF). www.arca.museus.ul.pt.
  5. Micael, J., Alves, M. J., Costa, A. C. (2012). Diversity of shallow-water asteroids (Echinodermata) in the Azorean Archipelago, Marine Biodiversity Records, Vol. 5, e49, pgs 1-10. DOI: 10.1017/S1755267211000534
  6. Müller, Johannes; Troschel, Franz Hermann (1842). System der Asteriden. Braunschweig: Mit Zwölf Kupfertalfen. pp. 28–29. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  7. Bay-Nouailhat, Anne and Wilfried. "European Marine Life - Ophidiaster ophidianus - Purple Starfish - Echinoderm Biology". www.european-marine-life.org. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.