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Trees- ShrubsBlue Spiny Starfish (Coscinasterias tenuispina)
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Grows to 20cm in diameter. Can have from 4 to 12 arms (usually 7) of differing lengths. If an arm is lost or damaged it can regenerate. Can vary in colour from cream, with red, blue or brown blotches with spines (1).
Predatory and omnivorous (2).
Reproduces both sexually and asexually, dividing in two and regenerating new arms. Spawning occurs in winter and fission occurs throughout the year (3).
Found in algal rich areas in shallow waters until about 50m. Also found on rocky substrate and sheltered under seaweed (2).
Divergent Atlantic and Mediterranean populations may deserve sub-species recognition (4). In the Mediterranean the female population is larger than the males (2).
C. tenuispina feeds upon bivalves and echinoderms (5).
Not listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List (6).
Description written by Joanne Clarke (2009)
(1) Wood L. (2002) Sea Fishes and Invertebrates of the Mediterranean Sea. New Holland Publishers, UK.
(2) Göthel, H. (1992) Guide de la faune sous-marine: La Méditerranée Invertébrés marins et poissons. Eugen Ulmer GmbH & Co, France.
(3) Alves S. L. S., Pereira A. D. and Ventura C. R. R. (2002). Sexual and asexual reproduction of Coscinasterias tenuispina (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Marine Biology. 140(1): 95-101.
(4) Waters J.M. and Roy M.S. (2003) Global phylogeography of the fissiparous sea-star genus Coscinasterias. Marine Biology. 142(1):185-191.
(5) Clemente, S., Hernández, J. C., Toledo, K. and Brito, A. (2007). Predation upon Diadema aff. Antillarum in barren grounds in the Canary Islands. Scientia Marina 71(4):745-754.
(6) IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 29 September 2009.
Reproduces both sexually and asexually, dividing in two and regenerating new arms. Spawning occurs in winter and fission occurs throughout the year (3).
