Spiny starfish
Marthasterias glacialis
- Scientific name
- Marthasterias glacialis
- Group
- Echinoderms (starfish, urchins...)
- Rarity
- Common
- Where to see it
- Mediterranean, Temperate Atlantic / English Channel
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Not evaluated
Did you know?
One of the largest starfish in European waters, its spine-covered arms can regenerate a whole new animal from a single surviving arm.
What defines this group — Echinoderms (starfish, urchins...)
Starfish, urchins and sea cucumbers: a five-fold symmetry found nowhere else in the animal kingdom.
- The body is arranged in fives around a centre: no head, no front, no back.
- They move on hundreds of tube feet driven by water under pressure.
- Many regrow a lost arm; some starfish can rebuild themselves from a single one.