Feeding on Corals

This is a Crown of Thorns Starfish - Acanthaster planci. They are large in size and hugely spiny.
They are vociferous feeders of corals. In the picture, on the bottom left is the 'dead' corals that has been eaten.
Sometimes, there is an outbreak of this Crown of Thorns Starfish and that can be damaging to the reef system as lots of corals could be eaten by them.

comments (2)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

I once saw a fast forward playback of coral. Only when time is speed up, one realizes that these species are constantly at war. It just happens so slowly (and usually at night) that it is normally impossible to notice. Posted 8 years ago
1. Albert Kang
  
  Lion
  
  Yes, everything happens in slow motion with the corals, but it is a very busy life around them. Posted 8 years ago

The Crown-of-throns starfish

The crown-of-thorns starfish, ''Acanthaster planci'', is a large, multiple-armed starfish that usually preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps . The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thorn-like spines that cover its upper surface, resembling the biblical crown of thorns. It is one of the largest starfish in the world.

Info 5 0

Similar species: Valvatidan Sea Stars

Species identified by Albert Kang