APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

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Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- dorsal view 1

Specimen above found under a rock on the middleshore at Batten Beach, Mount Batten, Plymouth, Devon, 13.01.06.

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- dorsal view 2

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- ventral view 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- dorsal view arm tip 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- ventral view arm 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- dorsal centre close-up 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- ventral mouth close-up 1

Specimen above was found in a small sample of algae collected on the lowershore at Battery Rocks, Penzance, Cornwall, 24.10.18.

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- under rock with eggs 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- under rock with eggs 2

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- under rocks with eggs 3

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- dorsal view 3

Specimens found under rocks in pools on the middleshore at Chimney Rocks, Penzance, Cornwall, 09.05.17.

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- dorsal view 4

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- ventral view 2

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- with Asterina phylactica 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- dorsal view 5

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- dorsal view 6

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- dorsal view 7

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- dorsal view 8

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- ventral view 3

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- ventral view 4

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- group dorsal view 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- group ventral view 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- eggs 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- eggs 2

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- eggs 3

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
- starfish with eggs 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
post-metamorphic individuals 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
post-metamorphic individuals 2

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
post-metamorphic individual 1

Cushion star or Gibbous starlet
Asterina gibbosa
post-metamorphic individual 2

A common species found under stones in middleshore rockpools across the south-west of England. The species also has a much rarer relative the Green starlet or Small cushion star (Asterina phylactica). Both species can be found together, so please preserve the habitat of this species by making sure all stones are carefully returned to the same position and same way up as they were found.

Post-metamorphic individuals were identified using the paper "Adaptations to Benthic Development: Functional Morphology of the Attachment Complex of the Brachiolaria Larva in the Sea Star Asterina gibbosa", Biological Bulletin 211(2):172-82 · November 2006, by D. Haesaerts, M. Jangoux and P. Flammang.

Scientific and European Names:
Asterina gibbosa, Cushion star, Gibbous starlet, Funfeckstern, Vijfhoekige zeester, Asterie bossue, Estrella de capitan, Stella cuscinetto.

The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help

people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.

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