Astropecten irregularis (Pennant, 1777)

Description

Astropecten irregularis has a flattened body of up to 12 cm in diameter. The five arms are bordered by two lines of spines, the upper ones shorter than the lower ones, thus its common name. Its colour is yellowish to pale orange with small brown spots at the intersection of the arms and on the central disc in a star-shaped drawing. The armtips bear a violet ocella underlining a photosensitive tube-foot. Astropecten irregularis feeds on molluscs, worms, heart-urchins and brittle stars found on sandy bottoms where it can hide.

Distribution

Astropecten irregularis is found from 2 to 1000 m deep in the Atlantic Ocean from Norway to Morocco, the English Channel, the North Sea and in the Western Mediterranean Sea.

Classification

Source : World Register of Marine Species

Biota (Superdomain)
Animalia (Kingdom)
Echinodermata (Phylum)
Asterozoa (Subphylum)
Asteroidea (Class)
Valvatacea (Superorder)
Paxillosida (Order)
Astropectinidae (Family)
Astropecten (Genus)
Astropecten irregularis (Species)

Page glossary

Tube foot : tube-shaped element ending by a sucker-disc used to attach to substratum.

Authors

Text : Anne Bay-Nouailhat © 2005 - 2021.

Photos : © Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with his kind permission.
Websites and reference works : Consult bibliography

How to cite this page

Bay-Nouailhat A., March 2005, Description of Astropecten irregularis, [On line] http://european-marine-life.org/30/astropecten-irregularis.php, consulted on 2021 January 23.