''Nidorellia armata'', also known as the chocolate chip star (leading to easy confusion with ''

Protoreaster nodosus ''Protoreaster nodosus'', commonly known as the horned sea star or chocolate chip sea star, is a species of sea star found in the warm, shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific region. They are sometimes seen in the marine aquarium trade or dried and ...

''), is a species of

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 ...

from warmer parts of the East Pacific, where it ranges from the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...

to northwest

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, including the Galápagos.James, M.J., eds. (1991). ''Galápagos Marine Invertebrates: Taxonomy, Biogeography, and Evolution in Darwin's Islands.'' pp. 349. Topics in Geobiology. It is the only species in the genus ''Nidorellia''. ''N. armata'' can be found in tropical waters clinging on

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

s and rocky

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

s; and are sometimes kept as pets in home

marine aquarium A marine aquarium is an aquarium that keeps ocean, marine plants and animals in a contained environment. Marine aquaria are further subdivided by hobbyists into fish only (FO), fish only with live rock (FOWLR), and reef aquarium, reef aquaria. Fi ...

References

External links

*
Nidorellia armata picture
' * Oreasteridae Monotypic echinoderm genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray Asteroidea genera {{Asteroidea-stub