Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Subphylum: Eleutherozoa
Superclassis: Asterozoa
Classis: Asteroidea
Ordo: Forcipulatida
Familia: Asteriidae
Genus: Marthasterias
Species: M. africana - M. glacialis
Marthasterias is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae. It is monotypic and the only species in the genus is Marthasterias glacialis, commonly known as the spiny starfish. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Description
Marthasterias glacialis is a fairly large starfish with a small central disc and five slender, tapering arms. Each arm has three longitudinal rows of conical, whitish spines, usually with purple tips, each surrounded by a wreath of pedicellariae. The background colour is variable and may be brownish or greenish-grey, tinged with yellow or red and sometimes with purple at the tips of the arms. This species can grow to 70 cm (28 in) but a more usual size is 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 in). It is sometimes confused with the northern starfish Leptasterias muelleri.[3]
Distribution and habitat
Marthasterias glacialis is native to the Eastern Atlantic Ocean (from Iceland and Macaronesia in the North Atlantic to Angola and South Africa in the South Atlantic), and the Baltic and Mediterranean seas.[4][5] Around the British Isles it is limited to the western side of Scotland, Wales, the western part of southern England and most of Ireland. Its depth range is subtidal down to about 200 m (656 ft) and it is found on both sheltered muddy substrates and on rocks.[3]
Ecology
Detail of tip of arm showing tube feet extended
Like other starfish in the family Asteriidae, Marthasterias glacialis is a predator and feeds mostly on bivalve molluscs and other invertebrates.[6] It has been found that secondary metabolites known as saponins, found within the starfish's tissues, have a dramatic effect on the whelk Buccinum undatum. At low concentrations they cause the mollusc to withdraw from the vicinity of the starfish and at higher concentrations they cause convulsions in the mollusc's musculature.[7] The sea urchins Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis and Psammechinus miliaris are also affected by the chemicals. S. droebachiensis flees but P. miliaris has toxic pedicellariae and is able to defend itself.[8]
The reproductive biology of this starfish has been little studied but off the coast of Ireland, individuals gather together in very shallow water in July and August. A few days later, on a warm afternoon, they have been observed to arch their bodies and release spawn into the sea. A rise in the water temperature seems to have triggered the spawning. Male starfish as small as 2.5 cm (1 in) were observed to spawn, and females of at least 9 cm (3.5 in) diameter.[5]
References
Mah, Christopher (2014). "Marthasterias Jullien, 1878". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
Mah, Christopher (2014). "Marthasterias glacialis (Linnaeus, 1758)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
"Spiny starfish - Marthasterias glacialis". Marine Life Information Network. Retrieved 2014-02-19.
"Species Details : Marthasterias glacialis (Linnaeus, 1758)". catalogueoflife.org. Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
Minchin, D. (1987). "Sea-water temperature and spawning behaviour in the seastar Marthasterias glacialis". Marine Biology. 95 (1): 139–143. doi:10.1007/BF00447495.
Barrett, John; Yonge, Charles Maurice (1958). Collins Pocket Guide to the Sea Shore. Collins & Co. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-00-219321-4.
Mackie, A. M.; Lasker, R.; Grant, P. T. (1968). "Avoidance reactions of a mollusc Buccinum undatum to saponin-like surface-active substances in extracts of the starfish Asterias rubens and Marthasterias glacialis". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 26 (2): 415–428. doi:10.1016/0010-406X(68)90635-X.
Jensen, Margit (1966). "The response of two sea-urchins to the sea-star Marthasterias glacialis (L.) and other stimuli". Ophelia. 3 (1): 209–219. doi:10.1080/00785326.1966.10409643.
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