Crown-of-thorns starfish

Acanthaster planci · The crown-of-thorns starfish is a large, spiny starfish that eats hard coral and lives on coral reefs across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Central America.

Also called Crown-of-thorns sea star.

Crown-of-thorns starfish
Photo: The Cosmonaut, CC BY-SA 2.5 ca
Crown-of-thorns starfish
Photo: Ryan McMinds, CC BY 2.0
Crown-of-thorns starfish
Photo: JSLUCAS75, CC BY-SA 3.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumEchinodermata
ClassAsteroidea
OrderValvatida
FamilyAcanthasteridae
GenusAcanthaster
SpeciesAcanthaster planci

Where it lives

Coral reefs across the tropical Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Mexico.

Fun facts

  • This starfish eats coral by pushing its stomach out through its mouth and spreading it over the coral to digest it.
  • A single crown-of-thorns starfish can eat up to 6 square metres of living coral reef in a year.
  • Crown-of-thorns starfish have true image-forming vision.
  • A large female can produce 47 to 53 million eggs in one spawning.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).