A wonderful starfish

[MWP admin]

I've been ages away from ghadira, but now I have to go again since it is suitable for the little one. Well thanks to her, I got my first encounter and hand shaking with a very nice specimen of a starfish.

I was hinted to Astropecten spp, but I wonder if someone can say exactly the full species name!

It was exciting to grab the creature for a while - much more from touching nettles After photo modelling, the creature was placed back.

Size 10-15cm, found on rough sand very close to the coast of Ghadira.

[Conchiolin]

Dude pay attention when handling such creatures they may be poisonous like a medusa. Never trust marine fauna. that's my first law.

[MWP admin]

This beautiful starfish is identified as Astropecten bispinosus - a medium sized species of Astropecten that can be between 8cm and 15cm across.

It is a common seastar of sandy bottoms. In Malta, six species of Astropecten are present, one very large (up to 50cm) and the other ranging in size from 7cm-12cm across. Telling them apart is not always easy as it involves detailed examination of the arrangement of the spines, especially those in the ambulacral grooves (where the tube feet are).

None of them are dangerous.

Information brought to you by the courtesy of Prof. Patrick J. Schembri