Culcita novaeguineae from White Island, Kimberley

cushion star

Culcita novaeguineae

Large cushion shaped seastar with reduced arm lengths. Brightly coloured with irregular oval patches of contrasting colours.

Morphology

Massive seastar, pentagonal to almost circular in outline, pincushion shaped, with a thick skin, colour variable, cream, green or brown with patches of red, brown or green

Behaviour

Feeds on corals, echinoids and substrate microbial film

Method of reproduction

Sexual

Habitat

Marine

Found on offshore coral reef flats and rubble bottoms 0-30 metres depth.

Distribution

Common in tropical Indo-Pacific. North western & eastern Australia, including Timor Sea

Life Cycle

Separate sexes, about 2 years to reach adult size

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Subphylum: Asterozoa
Class: Asteroidea
Superorder: Valvatacea
Order: Valvatida
Family: Oreasteridae
Genus: Culcita
Species: novaeguineae
Name Published Year: 1842
Scientific Name Authorship: Müller & Troschel
Commercial Impact: 

None

Conservation Assessment: Least Concern

Net Conservation Benefits Fund

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Western Australian Museum Collections https://museum.wa.gov.au/online-collections/names/Culcita-novaeguineae
Accessed 30 Aug 2023

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