Chocolate Chip Sea Star
The Kingdom that the chocolate chip sea star is located in is the kingdom Animalia. The Phylum is the Echinodermata.
Class is the Asteroidea. Valvatida is the order. The family is Oreasteridae and the genus us Protorester.
Class is the Asteroidea. Valvatida is the order. The family is Oreasteridae and the genus us Protorester.
The chocolate chip sea star has pentaradial symmetry. The eponymous “chocolate chips” or knobs are found only on the aboral surface, that is, the surface without the mouth. These knobs are believed to deter predators, perhaps by making the starfish too difficult to swallow whole; unfortunately for the Chocolate Chip Starfish, they do nothing to prevent humans from collecting them. According to the scientific literature the central disk can reach a diameter of up to 12 cm and the arms a length of about 14 cm. Despite their name, the colors of Chocolate Chip Starfish can be quite variable. The ground color may be white, yellow, brown, red and even bluish, while the “chips” vary in color from grey to dark brown.
Facts
1 Chocolate chip sea stars live in the warm areas of the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and Red Sea. 2 Sexes are separate in sea stars and fertilization is external. 3 Found all over sea grass beds and sandy areas, these sea stars live in shallow water areas. 4 can also be found on coral reefs to depths of 100 feet. 5 They feed on sponges, coral, oysters, clams, algae, shellfish, bacteria and detritus or waste products and the remains of dead plants and animals.
Aboral surface
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cilia ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fertilization ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Invertebrate --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oral surface |
The topside of the body.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tiny hairs that are used for movement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The uniting of egg and sperm to form a new individual. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An animal without a backbone. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The underside of the body. |
http://www.indyzoo.com/SiteAssets/pdfs/ChocolateChipSeaStar.pdf
http://sea.sheddaquarium.org/sea/fact_sheets.asp?id=101
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protoreaster_nodosus