Acanthaster is a bitypic genus of large and venomous starfish placed in its own family, Acanthasteridae. Its two members are known as crown-of-thorns starfish. Acanthaster are native to coral reefs in Indo-Pacific region.[2]
| Acanthaster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Acanthaster planci | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Valvatida |
| Family: | Acanthasteridae |
| Genus: | Acanthaster Gervais, 1841[1] |
| Species | |
2, See text. | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
The species in this genus are a contributor to coral reef degradation because they prey on a large amount of live coral at high density.[2][3][4]
Species
These species are listed in the World Register of Marine Species:[1]
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
 | Acanthaster brevispinus Fisher, 1917 | western Pacific Ocean, southeast Asia |
 | Acanthaster planci (Linnaeus, 1758) | Indo-Pacific |
Some sources add Acanthaster ellisi, (Gray, 1840) but it is now considered as a subspecies of A. planci in the eastern Pacific.[5]
Recent molecular work has suggested that Acanthaster planci is a species complex of up to 4 different species that have yet to be separately described (Vogler et al., 2008).
Haszprunar, Vogler & Wörheide (2017)[6] suggest to split "A. planci" in :
- Acanthaster planci (Linnaeus, 1758) -- Northern Indian Ocean, always purple-blue and red
- Acanthaster mauritiensis de Loriol, 1885 -- Souther Indian Ocean
- Acanthaster solaris (Schreber, 1795) -- Pacific Ocean (max. 23 arms)
- Acanthaster benziei Wörheide, Kaltenbacher, Cowan & Haszprunar, 2022[7]—Red Sea (max. 14 arms).
Acanthaster planci stricto sensu (Thailand).
![Lab hybrid of A. planci and A. brevispinus[8]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Acanthaster_brevispinus_hybrid.JPG/202px-Acanthaster_brevispinus_hybrid.JPG)
Lab hybrid of A. planci and A. brevispinus[8]
Acanthaster planci "ellisi" from the Gulf of California.
Acanthaster planci "solaris" from Fidji.
Acanthaster planci "mauritiensis" from La Réunion.
Acanthaster benziei from Red Sea.
![Lab hybrid of A. planci and A. brevispinus[8]](https://www.search.com.vn/wiki/en/File:Acanthaster_brevispinus_hybrid.JPG)
