Cerbicale Islands, France, 26 meters, 2020, WBN
Corsica, France, 15 meters, 2007, WD
Ophidiaster ophidianus is a starfish of a diameter of 20 cm but sometimes up to 40 cm. the central disc is small. It has five long arms, round in cross-section and of the same size nearly on its whole length slightly tappering at their end. The arms tighten at the junction with the central disc. On the arms, short respiratory papillae arranged in lines run from the central disc to the arm ends. The purple starfish has variable colour : purple, orange or red sometimes with darker purple patches.
Ophidiaster ophidianus is found on rocks from 5 to 25 m deep in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean from the Azores to the Canary Islands, Madeira and Guinea Gulf.
Source : World Register of Marine Species
Dernière mise à jour 21-11-2024
Papillae : kind of tiny bags more or developped on the surface of the starfish and used in breathing.
Text : Anne Bay-Nouailhat © 2008 - 2024.
Photos : ©
William Desmartin, Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with their kind permission.
Websites and reference works : Consult bibliography
Image satellite: © Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community.
Données de distribution : Ophidiaster ophidianus in GBIF Secretariat (2019). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-11-21.
Papillae : kind of tiny bags more or developped on the surface of the starfish and used in breathing.
Text : Anne Bay-Nouailhat © 2008 - 2024.
Photos : ©
William Desmartin, Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with their kind permission.
Websites and reference works : Consult bibliography
Bay-Nouailhat A., August 2008, Description of Ophidiaster ophidianus, [On line] https://european-marine-life.org/30/ophidiaster-ophidianus.php, consulted on 2024 November 21.
Author
Project manager in marine environment
Professional diver - Naturalist
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