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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.
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.
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. [2]
Although most echinoderm spines are blunt, those of the crown-of-thorns starfish are long and sharp and can cause a painful puncture wound as the epithelium covering them contains a toxin. [97] Because of their catch connective tissue, which can change rapidly from a flaccid to a rigid state, echinoderms are very difficult to dislodge from ...
The crown of thorns is a striking houseplant with bright green foliage and tiny flowers enclosed with bright bracts of pink, red, yellow, or white. Its common name comes from the legend that this ...
Their habitats are easily disturbed by outside factors which unbalance the ecosystem. In 1989, the invasive crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) caused havoc in American Samoa, killing 90% of the corals in the reefs. [26] Corals that grow on reefs are called hermatypic, with those growing elsewhere are known as ahermatypic. Most of the ...