Hippasteria phrygiana

Hippasteria phrygiana is a sea star species, a member of the Goniasteridae family.

Description and characteristics
This species grows up to 20 cm in diameter, with short arms and a large body. The upper surface is red and covered with rounded knob-like spines; the lower surface contains many macroscopic bivalved pedicellariae.



Habitat and geographic range
This species is incredibly widely distributed: it is present in the 3 main oceanic basins.

It lives mostly in cold and deep waters.

Biology
This species feeds mostly on cnidarians, especially deep-sea corals.