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Acanthaster
Genus of starfishes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Acanthaster is a bitypic genus of large and venomous starfish placed in its own family, Acanthasteridae. Its two members are known as crown-of-thorns starfish. Acanthaster are native to coral reefs in Indo-Pacific region.[2]
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The species in this genus are a contributor to coral reef degradation because they prey on a large amount of live coral at high density.[2][3][4]
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Species
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These species are listed in the World Register of Marine Species:[1]
The Acanthaster planci reproduces through mass spawning in the water, which are influenced by different environmental cues such as changes in water temperatures and lunar events.[5] Some sources add Acanthaster ellisi, (Gray, 1840) but it is now considered as a subspecies of A. planci in the eastern Pacific.[6]
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).
Haszprunar, Vogler & Wörheide (2017)[7] 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[8]—Red Sea (max. 14 arms).
Acanthaster planci stricto sensu (Thailand).
Lab hybrid of A. planci and A. brevispinus[9]
Acanthaster planci "ellisi" from the Gulf of California.
Acanthaster planci "solaris" from Fidji.
Acanthaster planci "mauritiensis" from La Réunion.
Acanthaster benziei from Red Sea.
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References
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