General Description
Body shaped like a pentagon with 5 arms, blue-green colour. Up to 3 cm wide (arm tip to arm tip).
Biology
Five-armed Cushion Stars eat microscopic algae and slime from the surface of rocks. They are hermaphrodites and lay their eggs on rocks, instead of producing swimming larvae like most seastars.
Distribution
South Africa and south-eastern Australian coast.
Habitat
Shallow intertidal rock pools, on and under rocks, to depth of 5 m.
More Information
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Animal Type
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Animal SubType
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Brief Id
Pentagonal shape, 5 arms, blue-green.
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Colours
Green, Brown
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Habitats
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Diet
Herbivore
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Diet Categories
Algae
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Endemicity
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Commercial
No
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Conservation Statuses
CITES: Not listed, FFG Threatened List: Not listed, DSE Advisory List: Not listed, IUCN Red List: Not listed
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Depths
Shore (0-1 m), Shallow (1-30 m)
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Water Column Locations
On or near seafloor
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Taxon Name
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Scientific Author
(Lamarck, 1816)
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Common Name
Five-armed Cushion Star
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Phylum
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Subphylum
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Class
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Superorder
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Order
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Family
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Genus
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Species Name
exigua
