Report on the occurrence of abnormal four-armed red-knobbed starfish protoreaster linckii (Echinodermata: Astroidea), Tuticorin coast, south-east coast of India
Report on the occurrence of abnormal four-armed red-knobbed starfish protoreaster linckii (Echinodermata: Astroidea), Tuticorin coast, south-east coast of India
Date
2015
Authors
Chelladurai, G.
Balakrishnan, S.
Jayanthi, G.
Ajeeshkumar, K.K.
Mohanraj, J.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Abstract
Starfish are echinoderms that live among corals and occur from the supra-littoral to the hadal zone. Deviation from pentamerism
is a rare phenomenon in starfish and was observed in the red-knobbed starfish (Protoreaster linckii) collected from
the Tuticorin coast, India. Eighty-five specimens were collected and, among these, one was found to be abnormal and had only
four arms. The reasons for this abnormality may be due to the changes that occur during larval metamorphosis or caused by
an abnormal regeneration of the arm.
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Citation
Marine Biodiversity Records Vol. 8, doi:10.1017/S1755267215000470