[Coral-List] four-rayed cushion stars

[Barbara Whitman]

Hi All,

Over several years here in Nevis,  I have found (without searching for them) perhaps twenty cushion stars Oreaster reticulatus, of varying sizes with only four rays.  They showed no indication of a ray being lost.  The seastars appeared bilaterally symmetrical externally - with the exception of the madreporite and anus.  I have seen a couple that clearly had lost a ray and were in the stages before regeneration.  But I have found so many with four rays and no apparent loss that I wondered if anyone else has seen anything similar.

Thanks,

Barb Whitman
Director
Under the Sea Sealife Education Centre
Nevis, West Inidies