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sea
stars text index | photo
index
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| Phylum Echinodermata > Class Stelleroida > Subclass Asteroidea > Genera Astropecten |
| Plain
sand star Astropecten sp. Family Astropectinidae updated Feb 09 Where seen? This fast moving sea star is commonly encountered on our Northern shores. In sandy or silty shores. It comes out in large numbers at sunset. During the day, it usually remains buried in the sand or silt. Features: Diameter with arms 4-6cm. Body rather flat. Arms long, tapered to a sharp tip. Along the sides of the arms are stout flat long spines. These spines resemble the teeth of a comb and members of this family are sometimes called Comb sea stars. The spines are usually tinged a bright orange at the base with white tips. The marginal plates on the sides of the arms are not so large. The white tube feet are pointed. Colours generally a plain bluish brown, with a darker brown centre and stripes down the length of the arms. The tips of the arms are black. Sometimes, tiny white snails are found on the upperside. The Painted sand star tends to be larger and is less commonly encountered than the Plain sand star. |
 Changi, Jun 05  Stout flat spines on the sides. |
 Tiny white snails sometimes seen. |
 Eggs of the snails? |
 Madreporite on the top right |
 Chek Jawa, Apr 05 |
 Pointed tube feet |
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Plain sand stars on Singapore shores
 Pulau Sekudu, May 08 |
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*Species are difficult to positively identify without close examination.
On this website, they are grouped by external features for convenience of display.
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