Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The crown-of-thorns starfish (frequently abbreviated to COTS), [1] Acanthaster planci, is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thornlike spines that cover its upper surface, resembling the biblical crown of thorns .
The crown-of-thorns starfish has few other natural predators, and are capable of destroying large sections of coral reef. The struggle between a starfish and an Atlantic triton can last up to an hour before the seastar is subdued by the snail's paralyzing saliva. Tritons can be observed to turn and give chase when the scent of prey is detected.
C. tritonis is one of the few animals to feed on the crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci. Occasional plagues of this large and destructive starfish have killed extensive areas of coral on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and the western Pacific reefs. The triton has been described as tearing the starfish to pieces with its file-like ...
Acanthaster is a bitypic genus of large and venomous starfish placed in its own family, Acanthasteridae.Its two members are known as crown-of-thorns starfish.Acanthaster are native to coral reefs in Indo-Pacific region.
In Okinawa, fishermen observed numerous individuals of the predatory crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) gathering around the remains of the internal organs of flower urchins. [63] A follow-up study by Japanese researchers in 2001 confirmed that the viscera of flower urchins could indeed attract crown-of-thorns starfish in both ...
The body form of A. brevispinus is fundamentally the same as that of a typical starfish or seastar. Like A. planci, however, its distinctive traits include being disc-shaped, multiple-armed with multiple madreporites, flexible, prehensile, and densely spined, and having a large ratio of stomach surface to body mass.
A Crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak in conjunction with anthropogenic stressors can cause irreversible reef-system damage. [ 45 ] [ 46 ] The Kuroshio Current controls patterns of connectivity between coral reefs (as well as other marine organisms with a larval phase), transporting larvae from southerly coral reefs to downstream reefs along the ...
It is classed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List and it is believed that its population is decreasing; the species is also listed under Appendix II of CITES. . Figures of its population are unknown, but is likely to be threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing coral bleaching, climate change, human activity, the crown-of-thorns starfish ...