Crown-of-thorns starfish occurs where coral reefs or hard coral communities occur in this region. The body form of the crown-of-thorns starfish is fundamentally the same as that of a typical starfish, with a central disk and radiating arms. Its special traits, however, include being disc-shaped, multiple-armed, flexible, prehensile, and heavily spined, and having a large ratio of stomach surface to body mass. Its prehensile ability arises from the two rows of numerous tube feet that extend to the tip of each arm. In being multiple-armed, it has lost the five-fold symmetry (pentamerism) typical of starfish, although it begins its life cycle with
Starfish trail behind. Most starfish cannot move quickly, a typical speed being that of the leather star ("Dermasterias imbricata"), which can manage just in a minute. Some burrowing species from the genera "Astropecten" and "Luidia" have points rather than suckers on their long tube feet and are capable of much more rapid motion, "gliding" across the ocean floor. The sand star ("Luidia foliolata") can travel at a speed of per minute. When a starfish finds itself upside down, two adjacent arms are bent backwards to provide support, the opposite arm is used to stamp the ground while the two remaining arms