Ophidiaster ophidianus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Echinodermata |
Class: | Asteroidea |
Order: | Valvatida |
Family: | Ophidiasteridae |
Genus: | Ophidiaster |
Species: | O. ophidianus
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Binomial name | |
Ophidiaster ophidianus Lamarck, 1816
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Synonyms[1] | |
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Ophidiaster ophidianus, the purple starfish, is a species of starfish from the East Atlantic (from mainland Portugal and the Azores down to the Gulf of Guinea) and the Mediterranean Sea.[2][3] It has a big variation in colour (from red to orange) and may present brown spots.[4][5] The central disc is small, covered by irregular plates,[6] and the arms are thinner near the central disc. Each arm has lines of respiratory papillae.[7] It can reach 40 cm in diameter.[7]