Oreaster reticulatus

Oreaster reticulatus
The red cushion sea star, Oreaster reticulatus, in San Salvador Island, Bahamas
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Echinodermata
Subphylum:	Asterozoa
Class:	Asteroidea
Order:	Valvatida
Family:	Oreasteridae
Genus:	Oreaster
Species:	O. reticulatus
Binomial name
Oreaster reticulatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
Asterias gigas Linnaeus, 1753 Asterias pentacyphus Retzius, 1805 Asterias reticulata Linnaeus, 1758 Asterias sebae de Blainville, 1830 Oreaster aculeatus (Gray, 1840) Oreaster bermudensis H.L. Clark, 1942 Oreaster gigas Lutken, 1859 Oreaster lapidarius Grube, 1857 Oreaster tuberosus Behn in Mobius, 1859 Pentaceros aculeatus Gray, 1840 Pentaceros gibbus Gray, 1840 Pentaceros grandis Gray, 1840 Pentaceros reticulatus Gray, 1840

Oreaster reticulatus, commonly known as red cushion sea star, is a species of marine invertebrate, a starfish in the family Oreasteridae.

Description

The oral surface of Oreaster reticulatus

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  Regular Oreaster reticulatus, symmetrical five-pointed star

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  Unusual 6 legged specimen, Mosquito Pier, Vieques, Puerto Rico

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  4 legged specimen

Distribution

Oreaster reticulatus occurs in many regions of the Western Central Atlantic, including Bahamas, Cape Frio, Cape Hatteras, the Caribbean Sea, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Guyanas and Yucatán.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Oreaster reticulatus (Linnaeus, 1768).  Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=178210 on 26 April 2010.