Invertebrates
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish
Acanthaster planci · Echinoderm, family Acanthasteridae; a coral-eating sea star, often abbreviated COTS
The crown-of-thorns starfish is the reef predator whose appetite makes headlines. A large adult (half a meter of spine-armored arms, often twenty of them) everts its stomach over living coral and digests the tissue straight off the skeleton, leaving stark white feeding scars. At natural densities it is a normal member of Indo-Pacific reefs; in outbreak years populations explode to thousands per reef and can strip kilometers of coral, and repeated outbreak waves rank among the largest single causes of coral loss on the Great Barrier Reef. Divers are often asked to report sightings, and licensed cull teams inject stars on managed reefs. Leave removal to them, since a mishandled star is dangerous and crude methods can spread the problem. The spines mean business: punctures bring strong pain, swelling, and occasionally embedded tips.
어디서 언제 볼 수 있나
"상주종"은 해당 목적지에서 대부분의 다이빙 시 만날 수 있다는 뜻이고, "계절종"은 표기된 달에 안정적으로 출현한다는 뜻입니다. 그 외의 생물은 계획이 아닌 보너스로 여기세요.
| 목적지 | 신뢰도 | 월 | 참고 사항 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns & the Ribbon ReefsAustralia | Occasional | 연중 가능 | |
| North & South Malé AtollsMaldives | Occasional | 연중 가능 | |
| Okinawa & the Kerama IslandsJapan | Occasional | 연중 가능 |
한눈에 보는 최적의 달
이해하기
서식지: Coral reefs wherever live hard coral grows, sheltering by day and feeding openly during outbreaks.
범위: Indo-Pacific and Red Sea, from East Africa to the eastern Pacific fringe.
행동 특성: Naturally sparse and mostly nocturnal; in outbreak years densities explode and stars feed in daylight en masse, leaving white feeding scars across whole reef tracts.
먹이: Living hard-coral tissue, digested externally by everting the stomach over the colony; a large adult can clear several square meters a month.
크기: 보통 0.3 m; 최대 기록 수심 0.7 m (total diameter including arms; large adults carry up to about 20 arms).
이 생물 주변에서의 행동 요령
Report sightings where reef managers ask for them and leave removal to licensed cull teams: improvised chopping can spread damage, and the spines punish bare-handed heroics.
보존
The species itself is not threatened. The management story is protecting coral from outbreaks, whose causes are debated but linked in part to nutrient runoff and loss of predators such as the giant triton.
관련 다이브 사이트 목록
강조 표시된 사이트는 편집팀이 해당 종에 대해 직접 등록한 곳이며, 숫자는 1990년 이후 사이트 기준 약 5km 이내에서 기록된 GBIF 출현 건수입니다.
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