Asterias forbesi Asterias forbesi Asterias forbesi, commonly known as Forbes sea star, is a species of starfish in the family Asteriidae. It is found in shallow waters in the northwest Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. "Asterias forbesi" usually has 5 arms but occasionally has 4 or 6. Like many starfish species, the upper surface is covered in blunt conical projections giving it a rough feel. Some of these are pedicellariae, minute pincers that can grip objects. The arms are plump, broad at the base and tapering to a blunt tip. This starfish grows to about in diameter with an arm length
Crown-of-thorns starfish hypotheses focused on changes in the survival of juvenile and adult starfish - the "predator removal hypothesis": Many of the reports of fish preying on "Acanthaster" are single observations or presumed predation from the nature of the fish. For example, the humphead wrasse may prey on the starfish amongst its more usual diet. Individual puffer fish and trigger-fish have been observed to feed crown-of-thorns starfish in the Red Sea, but there is no evidence that they are a significant factor in population control. A study, however, based on the stomach contents of large carnivorous fish that are potential predators of