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Five-armed Luidia
sea star
Luidia hardwicki
Family Luidiidae
updated
Jul 2020
Where
seen? This
elegant sea star is sometimes seen, so far, only on Changi.
On soft silty shores near seagrasses. It appears to be seasonal with several being seen and none seen again for some time. According to Lane, recorded from Sultan Shoal and the Pulau Ayer Chawan islands that
have since been reclaimed to form Jurong Island. According to Marsh and Fromont, it is found in sand, mud and shelly sand in Australia.
Features: Diameter with arms to 5-8cm. 5 arms, long, slightly rounded, and tapered to a pointed tip, edged
with tiny spines along the sides. Upperside plain, beige, grey or pinkish, sometimes with darker arm tips or darker band along the arms. Upperside
covered with special flat-topped, pillar-like structures called paxillae.
Underside pale without markings. Tube feet large, translucent with pointed tips, It has bivalve pedicellariae which require a strong hand lens to see.
What does it eat? According to Marsh and Fromont, it eats predominantly clams and snails. But it also eats other echinoderms, crustaceans and foraminifera. It also scavenges on dead animals and may also be cannibals. Prey are swallowed whole. |
Changi, Aug 08 |
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Underside.
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Pointed tube
feet. |
| Five-armed Luidia
sea stars on Singapore shores |
| Other sightings on Singapore shores |
Changi, Jul 17
Photo shared by Abel Yeo on facebook.. |
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Links
References
- Loisette M. Marsh and Jane Fromont. Field Guide to Shallow Water Seastars of Australia. 2020. Western Australian Museum. 543pp
- Lane, David
J.W. and Didier Vandenspiegel. 2003. A
Guide to Sea Stars and Other Echinoderms of Singapore.
Singapore Science Centre. 187pp.
- Didier VandenSpiegel
et al. 1998. The
Asteroid fauna (Echinodermata) of Singapore with a distribution
table and illustrated identification to the species. The Raffles
Bulletin of Zoology 1998 46(2): 431-470.
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