Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Astropecten

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Kingdom
  
Family
  
Rank
  
Genus

Phylum
  
Subphylum
  
Eleutherozoa

Scientific name
  
Astropecten

Higher classification
  
Order
  
Astropecten Astropecten bispinosus Wikipdia

Similar
  
Starfish, Echinoderm, Astropecten irregularis, Luidia, Astropecten aranciacus

Sand sifting starfish astropecten polycanthus in reef aquariums


Astropecten is a genus of sea stars of the family Astropectinidae.

Contents

Sand sifter flipping over astropecten sp


Identification

Astropecten Astropecten platyacanthus Philippi 1837 Forum Natura

These sea stars are similar one to each other and it can be difficult to determine with certainty the species only from a photograph. To have a certain determination, in some cases, animals should be analyzed in the laboratory or using genetic testing, but often it isn’t possible. In order to determine the species, with a reasonable margin of error, it’s necessary to observe the appearance of the animal, in particular, based on some typical features described by principal authors that have analyzed over the years a large number of specimens in the laboratory. The main elements, to determine the various species from photo, are: the appearance of the dorsal marginal plates and spines, the size, the shape of disc and arms. For a good identification by sea photo it is important to take a complete picture of all the subject, a picture of the detail of the marginal plates and to measure as precisely as possible the diameter of the sea star. All this can be done without touching, turning it, or disturbing the animal. Starfishes have two sides: an upper side called “aboral side” (which is normally visible), and a bottom side called “oral side” (which rests on the seabed).

Mediterranean species

Six species of Astropecten currently live in the Mediterranean Sea:

Astropecten httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

  • Astropecten aranciacus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Astropecten bispinosus (Otto, 1823)
  • Astropecten irregularis (Pennant, 1777)
  • Astropecten jonstoni (Delle Chiaje, 1825)
  • Astropecten platyacanthus (Philippi, 1837)
  • Astropecten spinulosus (Philippi, 1837)

  • Astropecten Astropecten aranciacus Photos Diagrams amp Topos SummitPost

    References

    Astropecten Wikipedia