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
Calliaster baccatus Calliaster baccatus Calliaster baccatus, the cobbled starfish, is a species of starfish in the family Goniasteridae. The cobbled starfish is a large brick-coloured starfish which grows up to 200mm across. Its central area is covered with coarse granules and its upper arms are edged with large squarish tiles which may be smooth or have protruding granules. The tiles on the outer edged of the arms usually have protruding granules. It is only found from Lamberts Bay to Port Elizabeth on the South African coast, in 9-23m. It appears to be endemic to this area. This starfish is found on rocky