Luidia ciliaris

Description

Luidia ciliaris is a large starfish between 40 to 60 cm in diameter. One of the main characteristic of this starfish are its seven long arms, usually cylindrical but sometimes flattened, and tapering to tips. The arm margins bear a series of spines. The upper surface of the seven-armed starfish varies from pale orange to reddish orange whereas the lower surface is white. Its arms may break easily when attacked, but, as it is the case with most echinoderms, it can regenerate a cut-down part, giving it an asymetrical shape with a arm shorter than the other ones. It lives on sandy or muddy bottoms where it may partly bury to catch heart-urchins and bivalves.

Distribution

Luidia ciliaris is found from 10 to 400 m deep in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, the North Sea and more rarely in the Mediterranean Sea.

How to cite this page

Bay-Nouailhat A., November 2005, Description of Luidia ciliaris, [On line] https://european-marine-life.org/30/luidia-ciliaris.php, consulted on 2024 April 24.