Cushion Star

ID points

• Arms completely reduced, the whole animal like a five-cornered bun
• Thick domed upper surface covered in granules
• Juveniles are an ordinary star shape and only swell up once grown

Basics

Family

Oreasteridae

Length

15–30 cm

Depth

1-30 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs

Distribution

Shallow coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific

Diet

Coral polyps and detritus

Easily confused with

Barrel SpongeA huge barrel-shaped body with a deep central openingCrown-of-Thorns StarfishA dozen to twenty arms, covered all over with long venomous spinesUpside-down JellyfishLies upside down on the bottom, bell down and oral arms up

Fun fact

Plump and rounded like a loaf of bread, it turns its stomach inside out over its prey and digests the meal outside its own body. Few sea stars have a stranger way of eating.