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Crown of Thorns Starfish

Acanthaster planci

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11.3358, 124.116

Field Notes

Description:

Crown of Thorns starfish are natural predators of coral. One individual can eat 13 m2 of coral a year. Their populations have natural blooms and crashes , and are thought to be beneficial for maintaining coral diversity. But over recent years blooms have been huge and have decimated many a reef.

Notes:

The crown-of-thorns receives its name from venomous thorn-like spines that cover its body.

Reference Links:

Crown-of-thorns starfish

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (3)
Blogie
Yeah, the term "COTS outbreak" has been bandied around for years now. Too bad for the critter. But right now, with the vast destruction it's been causing all around, I don't have much love for it. But, I do agree that more monitoring & studies should be done to fully understand their role in the marine ecosystem.
SamanthaCraven
Yup, there was an 'outbreak' in Malapascua, though I don't like that word - it implies disease and something unnatural when we still don't completely understand why the population of COT blooms from time to time. It did cause a lot of damage though :(
Blogie
Whoa... so many of the in one spot! :(

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Global Coral Reef Monitoring
Photographed
PublishedDecember 15, 2011

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