''Fromia indica'', commonly called Indian sea star or red starfish, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of marine

starfish Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...

belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Goniasteridae Goniasteridae (the biscuit stars) constitute the largest family of sea stars, included in the order Valvatida. They are mostly deep-dwelling species, but the family also include several colorful shallow tropical species. Description Goniast ...

Description

''Fromia indica'' can reach a diameter of about to . When young, it is bright red with black tips (but not always), and can become a duller red at maturity. Some describe it as "red with a fine black mesh finterlinked lines.", a characteristic pattern which distinguishes it from the black-spotted sister species ''

Fromia milleporella ''Fromia milleporella'', common name red starfish or black spotted starfish, is a species of starfish belonging to the family Goniasteridae. Description ''Fromia milleporella'' can reach a diameter of about . Red seastars may have various shad ...

''. Though this sea star normally has five rays, also called arms, some have been found with six, during periods of regeneration. Image:Fromia indica juvenile.JPG, Very young specimen Image:Fromia indica Maldives.JPG Image:Fromia indica HI09-0187.JPG Image:Fromia indica oral face.JPG, Oral face

Distribution

This species can be found in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific, from the

Andaman islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

as far west as

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and as far east as the

Fiji Islands Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. It can also be found as far north as

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and as far south as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The known range of latitude is between -23.5 and 18.85 degrees. Longitude is between -162 and 178.53 degrees. It is frequently imported for the fish trade via Sri Lanka.

Habitat

It lives in lagoons and outer reefs on all kinds of substrates at temperatures between and . The animal is found at depths ranging from or less to or even .

Ecology

It feeds on

detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...

microalgae Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist indiv ...

, small

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

invertebrates, and other organic matter. It has reportedly eaten "weakened fish on the verge of dying."

Nutrition and management of the aquarium

The species appears to be safe for reef aquariums. This sea star may be fed small pieces or pellets of seafood such as shrimp or scallop. Though it is familiar to most hobbyists, it is not easy to maintain. This is because it is very sensitive to changes in water chemistry and often succumbs rapidly to bacterial infection due to rough handling, poor acclimatization, and starvation.

''Fromia elegans''

In 1921, H. L. Clark described a species of sea star, commonly known as Little red star, as ''Fromia elegans''. In 1938, Engel collected specimens he believed to be ''F. elegans''. Hayashi studied Engel's collection, and finding the specimens to be the same species as ''Fromia indica'', considered the names to be synonymous. In 1971, A. M. Clark believed there were enough differences between some specimens that they should be separate species, and that Engel's 1938 specimens may have been ''F. indica'' mistaken for ''F. elegans''. Marsh doubted this in 1977, though she didn't have evidence. Engel's description is now considered a synonym, and informally a forma, of ''Fromia indica'', while H. L. Clark's description is accepted as a full species.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2254432 indica Starfish described in 1869