Hippasteria phrygiana is a sea star species, a member of the Goniasteridae family.
Description and characteristics
This species grows up to 20 cm in diameter, with short arms and a large body. The upper surface is red and covered with rounded knob-like spines; the lower surface contains many macroscopic bivalved pedicellariae.
Habitat and geographic range
This species is incredibly widely distributed: it is present in the 3 main oceanic basins.[1]
It lives mostly in cold and deep waters.[1]
Biology
This species feeds mostly on cnidarians, especially deep-sea corals.[2]
References
- ^ a b Mah, Christopher L. (2013-02-12). "Starfish Mystery! 3 Oceans,2 Hemispheres,but ONE species?!". The Echinoblog.
- ^ Mah, Christopher L. (2013-09-16). "Goniasterid Starfish LOVE to eat Octocorals!". The Echinoblog.
External links
- Habitas entry
- Catalog of Life entry
- National Center for Biotechnology Information search
- Seawater.no entry