Ceramaster patagonicus
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| Ceramaster patagonicus | |
|---|---|
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| Preserved specimen of Ceramaster patagonicus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Valvatida |
| Family: | Goniasteridae |
| Genus: | Ceramaster |
| Species: | C. patagonicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Ceramaster patagonicus | |
Ceramaster patagonicus, the cookie star, is a species of sea star. It is bright orange or yellow in colour. Its arms are short and it has no spines. It is a deep water species and lives on rocky sea beds. Its diet includes sponges.
The World Register of Marine Species lists four subspecies:[1]
- Ceramaster patagonicus euryplax H.L. Clark, 1923
- Ceramaster patagonicus fisheri Bernasconi, 1963
- Ceramaster patagonicus patagonicus (Sladen, 1889)
- Ceramaster patagonicus productus Djakonov, 1950
Description
The cookie star is roughly pentagonal in shape with a diameter of up to 16 centimetres (6.3 in). It has a slightly inflated, broad central disc and five short rays. The aboral (upper) surface is covered with neatly arranged flat-topped scales, polygonal in the central area and hexagonal on the rays. Between the rays the scales are small and crowded together. There is a marginal row of distinctive larger scales forming a bevelled edge. Sometimes the disc and ray areas are swollen with sunken inter-radial areas between. This may happen when the starfish has recently fed or when its gonads are enlarged prior to spawning. The general colour is yellow, orange or pink.[2][3] It is larger than the rather similar Arctic cookie star (Ceramaster arcticus) and does not have red patches on the aboral surface as that species often has.[4]