''Protoreaster nodosus'', commonly known as the horned sea star or chocolate chip sea star, is a species of

sea star 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 ...

found in the warm, shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific region. They are sometimes seen in the

marine aquarium A marine aquarium is an aquarium that keeps 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 aquaria. Fish only tanks ofte ...

trade or dried and sold as curios.

Description

''P. nodosus'' possess rows of spines or "horns"; black conical points arranged in a single row, radially on the dorsal side, which may erode and become blunt. These dark protrusions are used to scare away possible predators, by looking frightening or dangerous. On the ventral side,

tube feet Tube feet (technically podia) are small active tubular projections on the oral face of an echinoderm, whether the arms of a starfish, or the undersides of sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers; they are more discreet though present on br ...

, purple in color (or pale, transparent pink), are arranged in rows on each arm. Most horned sea stars found are a roughly rigid five-pointed star-shape with tapering arms to the end, although there are anomalies like four or six-armed specimens; they may grow up to in diameter. The sea stars are usually colored in shades of red or brown, but can be light tan, the color of cookie dough. This appearance, combined with the small horns on its dorsal side, give the sea star a look similar to that of a bumpy cookie. Image:Horned Sea Star, Bunaken Island.jpg Image:Protoreaster nodosus.jpg Image:Protoreaster nodosus 2.jpg, Oral face

Habitat and behavior

Horned sea stars prefer sheltered,

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

y or slightly muddy bottoms to hard substrata such as

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

, and are frequently sighted conspicuously between the leaves of seagrasses on

sea grass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine (ocean), marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four Family (biology), families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae an ...

meadows or on blank stretch of coral sand. In shallow water, this species can be seen

intertidal The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

ly, occasionally exposed to the low tide. They do not withstand rapid changes well, however, and usually keep themselves underwater. Sometimes, many individuals of this species can be seen gathering on soft bottom with reason not very well known, probably to increase the chance of fertilization when spawning or simply a suitable feeding ground. Horned sea stars seem to be opportunistic carnivores; adults are known to prey on most sessile life forms including hard

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 ...

s and

sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate throug ...

s in aquarium. In this same setting, they will hunt down snails and eat them. An individual of horned sea star also has been observed eating a sea urchin in their natural habitat.Gremli MS, Newman HE, ''Insight Guides Underwater: Marine Life In the South China Sea'', page 159. APA Publications GmbH & Co. Verlag KG., 1993 As with other tropical echinoderms, commensal animals like

shrimps Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

(of genus ''Periclimenes''), tiny

brittle star Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomot ...

s and even juvenile filefish can be found on the surfaces of a horned sea star. This may be attributed to its protective nature, as there are few predators that would dare to eat this echinoderm.

Overharvesting

In many tropical Asian and Pacific countries, where horned sea stars are collected for

sea shell A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washe ...

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

overharvest Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term app ...

ing reduces greatly the population of the echinoderms. A related species, the Atlantic ''

Oreaster reticulatus ''Oreaster reticulatus'', commonly known as the red cushion sea star or the West Indian sea star, is a species of marine invertebrate, a starfish in the family Oreasteridae. It is found in shallow water in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Ca ...

'', commonly known as Bahama Sea Star, is also a once-abundant species reduced in number due to the continuous harvesting by the industry and tourists alike.

References

Bibliography

External links

Wild Fact Sheet's fact sheet for ''Protoreaster nodosus''
* {{taxonbar, from=Q1777525 Oreasteridae Animals described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fauna of the Pacific Ocean