seastar Cuenotaster involutus

Cuenotaster involutus is found throughout Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, South Orkney Islands, South Georgia Island, and Shag Rocks from 0 to 794 meters depth [1,2,4,5]. The disc of C. involutus may be flat or slightly convex, and is depressed between arms [3]. The arms of C. involutus are long, slender, flexible, convex-surfaced, and blunt-tipped and may sometimes be coiled ventrally [3,4]. C. involutus has been collected at sizes up eleven centimeters in radius from its center to the tip of an arm [2,3,5].



The color of Cuenotaster involutus includes pink-brick, grey-brown, yellowish brown, white, greenish gray, and gray white [2,3,4,5].



Closer view of the distinctive and unmistakeable bristling, well-spaced rosette-like paxillae along the disc and arms of Cuenotaster involutus [3,4,5].

C. involutus may be both an active predator and a scavenger [1].

1: Adaptations within Antarctic Ecosystems : Proceedings of the Third SCAR Symposium on Antarctic Biology. George A. Llano, ed. Washington : Smithsonian Institution ; Houston, Tex. : distributed by Gulf Pub. Co., 1977. pp.293-326; 2: Fauna der Antarktis. J Sieg & JW Wagele, eds. Berlin : P. Parey, 1990; 3: The Fauna of the Ross Sea, Part 3, Asteroidea. HES Clark. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 151, New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Memoir 21, 1963; 4: Discovery Reports 20:69-306 and plates, 1940; 5: Equinodermos Antarticos. II. Asteroideos. 5. Asteroideos de la Extremidad Norte de la Peninsula Antartica. I Bernasconi. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" e Instituto Nacional de Investigacion de las Ciencias Naturales. Zoologia (aka Ciencias Zoologicas) 9(10):211-281 and plates, 1970

Text ©Peter Brueggeman. Photographs ©Norbert Wu and Canadian Museum of Nature (Kathleen Conlan). Photographs may not be used in any form without the express written permission of Norbert Wu and Canadian Museum of Nature (Kathleen Conlan). Norbert Wu no longer grants permission for uncompensated use of his photos under any circumstances whatsoever; want more info?