Acanthaster Planci

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Acanthaster Planci

a starfish of the phylum Echinodermata measuring as much as 50 cm across. A. planci is found on coral reefs in the tropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Its body is covered with numerous sharp needles reaching 3 cm in length. Stings are extremely painful and cause severe poisoning in humans. The starfish feeds on polyps and madrepores. In the 1960’s massive numbers of the starfish appeared in many regions and caused the complete destruction of corals on extensive areas of reefs (for example, on Guam, in some areas of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, and on the Fiji Islands). The principal control measure is the destruction of the starfish with injections of Formalin, which are administered by teams of divers.

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References in periodicals archive ?

An outbreak of the poisonous crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) has been reported in the sea off several coastal barangays of Malitbog, Southern Leyte.

Crown-of-thorns starfish infestation reported in 11 Southern Leyte villages

Runoff from recent floods in northern Australia is flowing onto parts of the Barrier Reef, scientists said Friday, starving coral of light and providing fodder for the predatory crown-of-thorns starfish.

Fears flood water runoff could 'smother' Barrier Reef

The crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), which is native to Australia, is one of world's largest seastars, measuring up to 1 metre.

'Killer robots' to protect Great Barrier Reef from deadly starfish

It feeds on toxic animals such as crown-of-thorns starfish.

Coral reef fish declared flagship species of Apo Reef

Frydenberg said the money would be spent on improving water quality, tackling the crown-of-thorns starfish, and helping develop new species of coral that are more resilient to warmer temperatures.

Australia to spend half a billion to protect Great Barrier Reef

In recent years, the reef has lost 30% of its coral due to bleaching linked to rising sea temperatures and damage from crown-of-thorns starfish.

Australia to Fund Great Barrier Reef Restoration and Protection

It has suffered extensive damage over the past few years, mostly from coral bleaching, crown-of-thorns starfish infestation, and the effects of climate change.

WORTH NOTING

It has also endured damage from crown-of-thorns starfish and

Australia Unveils Reef Protection Plan

A PARTICULARLY PRICKLY problem (sorry again for bad puns!) for Australia's reefs is the crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS).

Meet our reef warriors: it's one of the hot environmental issues of our time: the loss of the world's reefs. lauren smith looks into who's rescuing these iconic habitats and finds a swag of inspiring aussie researchers hard at work

But pests in the ocean are partly responsible for the depletion of the reefs coral cover--the crown-of-thorns starfish is blamed for 40% of the coral decline.

Global perspectives: robot swims to rescue coral on the great barrier reef

You can be a stubbly crown-of-thorns starfish and eat coral, or a silvery barracuda feeding on fellow fish, a prickly urchin lazily grazing on algae, or a colourful sponge filter-feeding away while dripping off the side of a coral-like orange molasses.