seastar Porania antarctica

Porania antarctica is found in Antarctica and South Shetland Islands, South Sandwich Islands, South Georgia Island, Shag Rocks, Marion and Prince Edward Islands, Marquarie Island, Heard Island, Bouvet Island, Crozet Island, Kerguelen Island, Falkland Islands, Chile, and Argentina from 0 to 2,926 meters depth [3,4,6,8,9,10]. P. antarctica has been collected at sizes up to seven centimeters in radius from its center to the tip of an arm [5,9].



Porania antarctica varies in coloration as shown here. The color of P. antarctica can include off white, deep scarlet, and pink and has also been described as various tints of dark red [6,8,9,10].


Here is a spiny form of Porania antarctica [7,10]. Adult Porania antarctica have well developed dorsal spines or tubercles which are absent in P. antarctica glabra [1,2,4,9,10]. However this distinction is not so distinct in some specimens and young P. antarctica glabra may have small tubercular spines that disappear with age [4,6]. Porania antarctica glabra may be a synonym of Porania antarctica or a forma; there are at least two other distinct forms [4,5,9].

1: 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; 2: 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; 3: Los Equinodermos Colectados por el "Walther Herwig" en el Atlantico Sudoeste. I Bernasconi. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" e Instituto Nacional de Investigacion de las Ciencias Naturales. Hidrobiologia 3(3):287-334 and plates, 1973; 4: AM Clark. B.A.N.Z. Antarctic Research Expedition 1929-1931. Reports, Series B (Zoology and Botany) Volume 9, Asteroidea. Adelaide : BANZAR Expedition Committee, 1962; 5: Biological Bulletin 177(1):77-82, 1989; 6: Discovery Reports 20:69-306 and plates, 1940; 7: Isidro Bosch, personal communication, 1999; 8: South African Journal of Antarctic Research 23(1-2):37-70, 1993 ; 9: Asteroidea with a Survey of the Asteroidea of the Chilean Shelf. FJ Madsen. Lunds Universitets Arsskrift. Ny Foljd, Avd. 2. Bd 52. Nr 2. Kungliga Fysiografiska Sallskapet Handlingar. Ny Foljd, Bd 67, Nr 2. Reports of the Lund University Chile Expedition 1948-49. Number 24. Lund : CWK Gleerup, 1956; 10: Memoirs of Museum Victoria 57(2):167-223, 1998

Text ©Peter Brueggeman. Photographs © Isidro Bosch, Jim Mastro, and Canadian Museum of Nature (Kathleen Conlan). Photographs may not be used in any form without the express written permission of Isidro Bosch, Jim Mastro, and Canadian Museum of Nature (Kathleen Conlan).