''Acanthaster'' is a bitypic
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of large and venomous
starfish
Starfish or sea stars are Star polygon, star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class (biology), class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to brittle star, ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to ...
placed in
its own family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
, Acanthasteridae. Its two members are known as
crown-of-thorns starfish
The crown-of-thorns starfish (frequently abbreviated to COTS), ''Acanthaster planci'', is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thornlike spines ...
. ''Acanthaster'' are native to coral reefs in Indo-Pacific region.
The species in this genus are a contributor to
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...
degradation because they prey on a large amount of live
coral
Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...
at high density.
Species
These species are listed in the World Register of Marine Species:
[
Some sources add ''Acanthaster ellisi'', (Gray, 1840) in the eastern Pacific, but it is now considered as a subspecies of ''A. planci''.
Haszprunar, Vogler & Wörheide (2017) suggest to split "''A. planci''" in :
* ''Acanthaster planci'' (Linnaeus, 1758) -- Northern Indian Ocean, always purple-blue and red
* ''Acanthaster mauritiensis'' de Loriol, 1885 -- Souther Indian Ocean
* ''Acanthaster solaris'' (Schreber, 1795) -- Pacific Ocean (max. 23 arms)
* ''Acanthaster benziei'' Wörheide, Kaltenbacher, Cowan & Haszprunar, 2022—Red Sea (max. 14 arms).
Image:Crown of Thorns-jonhanson.jpg, '' Acanthaster planci'' ''stricto sensu'' (]Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
).
Image:Crown of Thorns Starfish at Malapascuas Island v. II.jpg, '' Acanthaster brevispinus'' (Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
).
Image:Acanthaster brevispinus hybrid.JPG, Lab hybrid of ''A. planci'' and ''A. brevispinus''Baja California
Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
.
Image:Acanthaster egypt.JPG, ''Acanthaster benziei'' from Red Sea.
References
Acanthasteridae
{{Asteroidea-stub