Asterias microdiscus explained

Asterias microdiscus is a starfish native to the Pacific coasts of Far East Russia.^[1]

The species was first described by Alexander Michailovitsch Djakonov in 1950^{[1] [2] [3]} with the holotype collected in Avacha Bay in the Pacific Ocean, off the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, at a depth of 18m in 6.5°C water, in 1912.^[4] Djakonov also named a forma brandtii.^[1]

It has also been recovered around Karaginsky Island.^[1]

The holotype was found on a silt substrate.^[4] It has been found at depths of 3-10m,^[1] perhaps 18m.^[4]

Description

This starfish has five arms. It has an arm length to 8cm; the ratio between the length of the arm and the radius of its disc is 4.5:1.^[1] It has planktonic larvae.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Book: Дьяконов, А.М. . 1950 . Морские звезды морей СССР [Определители по фауне. 34 (Tableaux analytiques de la faune de l'URSS 34)] . Russian . . . 127.
2. Web site: Asterias microdiscus Djakonov, 1950 . Mah . Christopher L. . 2008 . World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) . Flanders Marine Institute . 13 November 2019.
3. Book: Jangoux . Michel . Lawrence . John M. . 1 June 2001 . Echinoderm studies 6 . CRC Press . 262 . 9789058093011.
4. Web site: Sea Stars (Asteroidea) Catalogue • Asterias . Smirnov . Igor S. . 2019 . Research Collections of the Zoological Institute RAS . Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences . 13 November 2019.