''Luidia magnifica'', the magnificent star, 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 ...

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 ...

in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Description

The magnificent star usually has 10 long, tapering arms with pointed tips though there are occasionally 11 arms. One or more of these may be regenerating after being damaged or removed by a predator. The upper surface is covered with paxillae, pillar-like spines with truncated ends. There are also paxillae on the margins of the underside and multiple rows of tube feet running down the centre of each arm. The colour is variable, sometimes being creamy yellow with bands of red spots, but other specimens are darker in varying shades of brown and olive.''Luidia magnifica''
My Hawaiian images. Retrieved 2012-01-14. The underside is usually creamy yellow and the tube feet are tipped with red. The magnificent star can grow to a large size. One specimen on the

Pearl and Hermes Atoll The Pearl and Hermes Atoll ( haw, Holoikauaua), also known as Pearl and Hermes Reef, is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a group of small islands and atolls that form the farthest northwest portion of the Hawaiian island chain. The ...

, Hawaii, was found to be in diameter.

Distribution and habitat

The magnificent star is found on sandy areas of the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

surrounding

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

at a depth of between and .

Biology

Like other members of the genus ''

Luidia ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the Family (biology), family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with ...

'', the magnificent star is likely to be an opportunist

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

of macrofauna and possibly also a

scavenger Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding b ...

. Other related species favour a diet of

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

molluscs and

echinoids Sea urchins () are spine (zoology), spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard s ...

. The magnificent star can move rapidly, appearing to glide across the sandy seabed. It swallows large items of food whole, digesting them in its two stomachs and further processing the remains in the

pyloric caeca 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 a ...

in the base of its arms. It then ejects any undigested material through its anus.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3152534 Luidia Animals described in 1906 Fauna of the Pacific Ocean

Description

Distribution and habitat

Biology

See also

References