Cryptic Rock Star

I haven't been blogging for a long time. Sorry about that. I guess I shall blog something at least once a month.

Today shall blog on a little seastar I saw on my last trip to Pulau Semakau.


Cryptic Rock Star (Cryptasterina sp.)
Though it has been sighted many times on Semakau, I never seen it once(or maybe i have, but i didn't realise it. Ha.). Cryptic Rock Star is the common name. It belongs to the phylum of Echinodermata and family of Asternidae. Its species is hard to differentiate just by visual looking. It usually grow up to 3 to 4 cm long. Their arms are not long, almost like pentagon shape. Its colour make it difficult to spot as it camouflages very well among rocks and sands. Its favourite living habitat is under rock (and this is how i found them). It feeds on algae and small animals found on the surface of the rock. Seastars usually fertilize externally by releasing eggs and sperms into the water and produce swimming, bilaterally symmetrical larva. However it seems different for Cryptasterina hystera(read up more).


References:
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/echinodermata/asteroidea/cryptasterina.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0861002.html