Scientific name Acanthaster Higher classification Acanthasteridae | Family Acanthasteridae Rank Genus | |
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Similar Crown‑of‑thorns starfish, Starfish, Echinoderm, Valvatida, Culcita | ||
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.
Contents
Acanthaster planci
Species
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).
References
Acanthaster Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA