Purple Sea Star

Ophidiaster ophidianus

"Ophidiaster ophidianus", the purple starfish, is a species of starfish from the East Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. It has a big variation in colour and may present brown spots.
Ophidiaster ophidianus Diving in Sal, Cabo Verde. Wikipedia mentions it as Mediterranean but is also found in the East African Atlantic coast and islands. See; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357283949_A_pictorial_catalogue_of_the_shallow_water_starfish_species_of_Cabo_Verde_Echinodermata_Asteroidea Cape Verde,Fall,Geotagged,Ophidiaster ophidianus

Appearance

The central disc is small, covered by irregular plates, and the arms are thinner near the central disc. Each arm has lines of respiratory papillae. It can reach 40 cm in diameter.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionEchinodermata
ClassAsteroidea
OrderValvatida
FamilyOphidiasteridae
GenusOphidiaster
SpeciesO. ophidianus
Photographed in
Cabo Verde