Culciita novaeguineae
Müller and Troschel, 1842
Enter the name for this tabbed section: Description
Culcita novaeguineae is a large, massive species. It is often called the pin-cushion starfish or pillow starfish because of its massive, hemispherical shape. In Oman, the shapes varies from an almost perfect hemisphere to a well-defined star-shaped pillow. The size and number of short and blunt spines on the arms and more rarely on the disk of the starfish vary tremendously.
Color is very variable but typically includes various level of oranges and browns and less often grays and greens.
A other species, Culcita schmideliana. with larger and more numerous spines is found in Dhofar. Specimen with less obvious tubercules are found in the Sea of Oman and correspond perhaps to a hybrid between C. schmideliana and C. novaeguineae.
Color is very variable but typically includes various level of oranges and browns and less often grays and greens.
A other species, Culcita schmideliana. with larger and more numerous spines is found in Dhofar. Specimen with less obvious tubercules are found in the Sea of Oman and correspond perhaps to a hybrid between C. schmideliana and C. novaeguineae.
Enter the name for this tabbed section: Distribution
The species is common wherever corals, upon which it feeds, are found.
Other species are found in the Indian Ocean: Culcita
Other species are found in the Indian Ocean: Culcita
Enter the name for this tabbed section: Ecology and Biology
Culcita spp. feeds on corals but their food preferences have not yet been investigated in Oman. A small shrimp, Periclimenes soror, lives as a commensal, hiding under the starfish. The juvenile starfish are very different morphologically but cryptic.