Echinaster sepositus

(Retzius, 1783)

Vernacular names
English : Red starfish
French : Etoile de mer rouge

Classification
Class : Asteroidea
Order : Spinulosida
Family : Echinasteridae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
The species can reach an arm-span of 20 cm with small central disk and blunt-ended tubular arms. Its surface looks irregularly granulous or rough. Coloration usually bright red or red-orange with black peppered dots.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in the north eastern Atlantic, in the English channel and the Mediterranean sea, more rarely in nearby Atlantic ocean. Lives in marine grasslands and rocky substrates, down to 250 meters deep.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : NOT LISTED
CITES : Not listed
Status : The species hasn’t been assessed by IUCN but seems to be common in the wild although marine grasslands are highly threatened.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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