Grained seastar (Ophidiaster granifer)
Source-cited species reference: taxonomy from WoRMS, biology from SeaLifeBase, occurrence map from GBIF, description from Wikipedia.
Ophidiaster granifer, the grained seastar, is a species of starfish in the family Ophidiasteridae. It is found in the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific and is the only known species of starfish to reproduce by parthenogenesis.
- Scientific name
- Ophidiaster granifer
- Authority
- Lütken, 1871
- Family
- Ophidiasteridae
- Order
- Valvatida
- Depth range
- 0–123 m
- Habitat zone
- reef-associated
- Gbif occurrence records
- 280
Classification (WoRMS)
Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Echinodermata · Class: Asteroidea · Order: Valvatida · Family: Ophidiasteridae · Genus: Ophidiaster.
Accepted name: Ophidiaster granifer · Authority: Lütken, 1871 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 212302.
Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Ophidiaster trychnus Fisher, 1913.
Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=212302 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)
Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Ophidiaster granifer. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.
Depth range: 0–123 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.
SeaLifeBase notes: Common on reef flats and lagoon. Cryptic. Feeds on algae and microbes (Ref. 102252).
Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 130950) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Ophidiaster-granifer.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)
280 georeferenced occurrence records for Ophidiaster granifer are published through GBIF from 19 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 104 distinct locations from a sample of 280 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 (145); Philippines (19); Guam (18); Marshall Islands (15); Papua New Guinea (15); Indonesia (14); New Caledonia (11); Cocos (Keeling) Islands (10); Palau (6); Madagascar (5); Chinese Taipei (5); Fiji (4); Micronesia (Federated States of) (3); Angola (2); Japan (2).
Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: Red Sea; West Indian Ocean; Palau Islands; New Caledonian Exclusive Economic Zone.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2272663) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2272663&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=212302 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Description and natural history (Wikipedia)
Ophidiaster granifer is a small five armed starfish with a cryptic mottled brown colouration. It has a rough, granular appearance and grows to a diameter of about 10 cm. The disc is quite small and the medium-length, fairly broad arms have rounded tips.
No male Ophidiaster granifer has ever been identified and all known adults are female. As far as is known, Ophidiaster granifer is the only member of the phylum Echinodermata to reproduce exclusively by parthenogenesis. In this species, eggs are liberated into the sea in a synchronous spawning event but no fertilisation takes place. The eggs are large, with a diameter of 0.6 mm and the mother attaches some of them to the underside of boulders. Here they develop until they undergo metamorphosis into juvenile starfish. Other eggs are planktonic and drift with the currents. In either case, the larvae are lecithotrophic and feed off the yolks of their eggs. This reproductive strategy may be linked to the starfish's low fecundity rate and its low population density.
Ophidiaster granifer is found on coral reefs in shallow waters in the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific Ocean. It is known from the South China Sea, Japan, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, northern and western Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, New Guinea, Indonesia, the East Indies and the Philippines. It usually hides under boulders and is found on outer reef flats and patch reefs in lagoons, among broken coral rubble and among the dead bases of tangled coral thickets.
Source: Wikipedia: Ophidiaster granifer — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophidiaster_granifer (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
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