Biscuit Star

Pentagonaster duebeni

"Pentagonaster duebeni" is a species of starfish within the family Goniasteridae.
Biscuit Star - Pentagonaster duebeni  Adelaide,Australia,Biscuit Star,Pentagonaster  duebeni,Sea Star,South Australia

Appearance

"Pentagonaster duebeni" is a 5 armed flattened starfish with blunted arms separated by rounded arcs. Surface is layered with polygonal plates colored red and orange separated with yellow-white incisions. Arms are equal in length to the central disc, reaching a lengths up to 8 centimeters. Sizes reach up to 8 centimeters in width. "P. duebeni" diet consists of sponges, bryozoans, and other invertebrates.

Specimens from southern Western Australian show colors in various shades of dark to light red plates with raised dorsal plates. Sizes have been recorded at over 11 centimeters in width with slightly longer arm lengths.

Distribution

"Pentagonaster duebeni" is distributed off the Australian coasts from Shark Bay to Tasmania and southern Queensland.

Habitat

Its preferred habitat is exposed and sheltered reefs at depths up to 160 meters below sea level.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionEchinodermata
ClassAsteroidea
OrderValvatida
FamilyGoniasteridae
GenusPentagonaster
SpeciesP. duebeni
Photographed in
Australia