Echinaster luzonicus (1) cm 30-35 Giant Starfish Star Fish Sea Star Echinoderma Asterozoa Asteroidea Echinasteridae

Echinaster luzonicus cm 30-35 Giant Star Fish Starfish Sea Star Echinoderma Asterozoa Asteroidea Echinasteridae, natural colour.
Family: Echinasteridae.
Common name: The Luzon Sea Star.
Syn: Echinaster affinis, Echinaster eridanella, Echinaster multipapillatus, Henricia multipapillata, Othilia eridanella, Othilia luzonica.

Echinaster luzonicus is a species of Starfish of the Echinasteridae family, widespread in the tropical and subtropical western region of the Indo-Pacific. It is normally a six-armed starfish, but it is often quite asymmetrical in appearance due to its habit of amputating its arms to regenerate itself into new individuals. This species is in fact unique in its genus, as it reproduces asexually autotomizing its arms; the amputated arm then regenerates, making a new disc and other arms grow. Echinaster luzonicus is not carnivorous like most asterozoans, but feeds on bacterial and algal films extracted from sediment. Sometimes he lives symbiotically with a concealed copepod at his oral pole (mouth).