Echinoderms · Marine Life · South Africa · Starfish

African spiny starfish (Marthasterias africana)

Hunting bluish and orange spiny starfish. Port Alfred, Eastern Cape (2022) - iNaturalist Body salmon-pink, orange, deep blue or blue-grey. Aboral (dorsal) surface irregular, covered in conspicuous spines, each surrounded by a halo of minute pincer-like organs (called pedicellaria) that are used to keep the body surface clean. Tube-feet in 4 series. Small red eyespot… Continue reading African spiny starfish (Marthasterias africana)

Echinoderms · Marine Life · South Africa · Starfish

Dwarf cushion star (Parvulastra exigua)

Yellow starfish wrapped around algae. Doringbaai, Northern Cape (2020). Previously known as Patiriella exigua and Asterina exigua. Tiny, flattened, pentagonal starfish, with poorly developed arms. Dorsal surface made up of tile-like plates, each with a cluster of tiny knob-like spines. Gonophores on lower (oral) surface.Uniformly khaki-green of the West Coast, but variegated patterns of orange,… Continue reading Dwarf cushion star (Parvulastra exigua)