|
Anseropoda placenta
Anseropoda placenta, also called the goose foot starfish,[2] is a species of sea star in the family Asterinidae.[3] DescriptionAnseropoda placenta is up to 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter. It's a very thin, leaflike, flat sea star with short webbed arms. Its specific name placenta refers to a kind of flat cake. The aboral surface (top) has a texture of small plates; it is white with five radiating red lines, one down the centre of each arm.[4] DistributionMost common in the Irish Sea and English Channel, and is more rarely found off Scotland.[5] It is in rapid decline in Northern Ireland due to bottom fishing.[6] EnvironmentAnseropoda placenta is sublittoral, typically living at 20–40 m (66–131 ft) depth, in muddy sand or muddy gravel; it has been found as deep as 500 m (1,600 ft).[4][7] BehaviourAnseropoda placenta produces large eggs in the summer.[5] It feeds on benthic molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.[7] Gallery
References
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anseropoda placenta. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
