Anseropoda placenta explained

Anseropoda placenta, also called the goose foot starfish,^[1] is a species of sea star in the family Asterinidae.^[2]

Description

Anseropoda placenta is up to in diameter. It's a very thin, leaflike, flat sea star with short webbed arms. Its specific name Latin: placenta refers to a kind of flat cake. The aboral surface (top) has a texture of small plates; it is white with five radiating red lines, one down the centre of each arm.^[3]

Distribution

Most common in the Irish Sea and English Channel, and is more rarely found off Scotland.^[4] It is in rapid decline in Northern Ireland due to bottom fishing.^[5]

Environment

Anseropoda placenta is sublittoral, typically living at depth, in muddy sand or muddy gravel; it has been found as deep as .^{[3] [6]}

Behaviour

Anseropoda placenta produces large eggs in the summer.^[4] It feeds on benthic molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Anseropoda placenta : Goose foot starfish | NBN Atlas. species.nbnatlas.org.
2. Web site: Anseropoda placenta - Detail - Biodiversity Maps. maps.biodiversityireland.ie.
3. Web site: Anseropoda placenta - Marine Life Encyclopedia. www.habitas.org.uk.
4. Web site: WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Anseropoda placenta (Pennant, 1777). www.marinespecies.org.
5. Web site: Anseropoda placenta Goosefoot starfish :: Northern Ireland's Priority Species ::. www.habitas.org.uk.
6. Web site: MarLIN - The Marine Life Information Network - Goose foot starfish (Anseropoda placenta). www.marlin.ac.uk.