Neoferdina cumingi

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Echinodermata · Class: Asteroidea · Order: Valvatida · Family: Goniasteridae · Genus: Neoferdina.

Accepted name: Neoferdina cumingi · Authority: (Gray, 1840) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 368977.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Ferdina cancellata (Grube, 1857); Ferdina cancellata tylota Fisher, 1925; Ferdina cumingi Gray, 1840; Ferdina ocellata H.L. Clark, 1921; Neoferdina cancellata (Grube, 1857); Neoferdina cancellata tylota Fisher, 1925; Neoferdina ocellata (H.L. Clark, 1921); Neoferdina tylota Fisher, 1925; Scytaster cancellatus Grube, 1857.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=368977 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)

Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Neoferdina cumingi. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Depth range: 0–30 m · Habitat zone: benthic · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.

Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 137755) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Neoferdina-cumingi.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

267 georeferenced occurrence records for Neoferdina cumingi are published through GBIF from 30 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 105 distinct locations from a sample of 267 records, omitting 11 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: Australia (95); New Caledonia (26); Papua New Guinea (23); French Polynesia (21); Fiji (18); Marshall Islands (17); Indonesia (9); Japan (8); Christmas Island (6); France (5); Philippines (5); Solomon Islands (5); Palau (4); Vanuatu (3); Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2).

Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: New Caledonian Exclusive Economic Zone.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2272610) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2272610&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=368977 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

This starfish has a wide variety of colour forms but tends to be cryptic. It is typically symmetrically patterned with distinctive spots, some running laterally around the starfish's margin and others in rows which run down the five arms. In one colour morph, the spots on disc and arms were dark purple and those near the tips of the arms were reddish. The tip of each arm curls upwards, and the tube feet near the tip seem to have a chemosensory function.

Neoferdina cumingi is native to shallow water reefs in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, through northwestern and northeastern Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, to the Central Pacific.

Although the feeding habits of this starfish have not been studied, it is part of the order Valvatida, and starfish in this order typically evert their stomach to engulf and digest their food before retracting the stomach back into the disc, bringing the partially digested prey with it.

Like other starfish, this species is likely to be able to reproduce asexually after splitting apart, with even pieces as small as one fifth of the original volume being able to regenerate as long as the madreporite is present. Some members of Valvatida are hermaphrodites and others have separate sexes. In Neoferdina cumingi gametes are dispersed from the gonopore, which may be on the aboral (upper) surface or on the oral (under) surface of the animal. Two types of brachiolaria larvae appear to exist; some develop from yolky eggs and are non-swimming and non-feeding, while others have cilia and can swim, but do not feed. The larvae are planktonic and drift with the currents for about four weeks before they need to find shallow water areas in which to settle, often at a considerable distance from their origins.

Source: Wikipedia: Neoferdina cumingi — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoferdina_cumingi (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.