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crown-of-thorns starfish
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A crown of thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci, with a round body covered in long, sharp orange spines, rests on a coral reef. Crown of thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci).
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A crown of thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci, with a round body covered in long, sharp orange spines, rests on a coral reef.
crown-of-thorns sea star Crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci).

crown-of-thorns starfish

echinoderm
Also known as: Acanthaster planci
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History

crown-of-thorns starfish, (Acanthaster planci), reddish and heavy-spined species of the phylum Echinodermata. The adult has from 12 to 19 arms, is typically 45 centimetres (18 inches) across, and feeds on coral polyps. Beginning about 1963 it increased enormously on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The population explosion was attributed to the decimation of its chief predator, a large marine snail, the Pacific triton (Charonia tritonis), by shell collectors. Thereafter, the starfish multiplied throughout the southern Pacific...

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