*** Welcome to piglix ***

Acanthaster

Acanthaster
Acanthaster planci, étoiles mangeuses de corail.jpeg
Acanthaster planci
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Asteroidea
Order: Valvatida
Family: Acanthasteridae
Genus: Acanthaster
Gervais, 1841
Species
2, See text.
Synonyms
  • Echinaster Gray, 1840
  • Echinities Müller & Troschel, 1844

Acanthaster is a small genus of large and venomous starfish placed in its own family, Acanthasteridae. Its members are known as crown-of-thorns starfish.

These species are listed in the World Register of Marine Species:

Some sources add Acanthaster ellisi, (Gray, 1840) but it is now considered as a subspecies of A. planci in the eastern Pacific.

Recent molecular work has suggested that Acanthaster planci is a species complex of up to 4 different species that have yet to be separately described (Vogler et. al., 2008).

A. planci

A. brevispinus

Lab hybrid of A. planci and A. brevispinus

A. p. ellisi



...
Wikipedia

...