Their strange walking stances can be a warning to animals nearby that the starfish is on the chase or is about to attack. Asteroids in general can sense light, chemicals in the water, and respond to tactile stimulation.
Communication Channels: tactile ; chemical
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
During the summer, new L. ciliaris zygotes are formed. These coelomates are part of one of the only two deuterosome phyla. They develop into fully functioning bipinnaria larvae after about three to four days. The larvae are very large and elaborate, and can reach up to thirty-five millimeters in length. These larvae live in their plankton feeding ground until they grow into a complete starfish (around four months from around July to October).
A food source of L. ciliaris, Ophiothrix fragilis, plays a role in cleaning sponges (Porifera) in the sea. These sponges are useful to humans in that they filter water as it moves through their bodies, and by decreasing brittle star numbers in some areas, the seven-armed animals are affecting the efficiency of the natural water cleaners.
The seven-armed starfish plays an important role in the food chains of the North Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Europe and surrounding areas, helping keep the spiny brittle stars from overpopulating these waters.
Positive Impacts: research and education
Along the coast of the Western English Channel, Luidia ciliaris has a major role in the changing numbers of the sea shore's food chain. Luidia ciliaris shows a roughly inverse relationship to the abundance of Ophiothrix fragilis [brittle star]. In the last century, the numbers of this brittle star have steadily decreased while the number of Luidia ciliaris have increased in this area.
Similar to most starfishes, Luidia ciliaris is predatory. Foods eaten include heart urchins, brittle stars, the common starfish, the spiny starfish and many other enchinoderms.
The asteroid, which is present in low numbers throughout the year, forages in groups during the summer months. They are voracious carnivores, whose quick movements help them leap on top and devour their prey. Luidia ciliaris also has the ability to distort or even rupture the disk-shaped frame of plates of their mouths, allowing them to swallow very large prey. The seven-armed creature has been shown to prefer consuming brittle stars (ophiuroids) over other echinoderms in lab tests. As an example the ability of L. ciliaris to stretch its mouth, brittle stars can be up to almost twelve inches in diameter and can be fully injested by the carnivore. While known to feed on a variety of species of Echinodermata, L. ciliaris avoids those that secrete highly acidic mucus.
Larval Luidia ciliaris feed on plankton.
Animal Foods: aquatic crustaceans; other marine invertebrates; zooplankton
Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats non-insect arthropods, Eats other marine invertebrates); planktivore
Located in parts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic ocean, these starfish can withstand both tropical and temperate or subboreal environments. They are most frequently found on the coast of Europe, including the British Isles, and have been seen as far north as the Shetlands, and as far south as Cape Verde.
Biogeographic Regions: atlantic ocean
The areas on the shores where Luidia ciliaris is native tend to be rough, sandy and shallow. The star lies scarcely burried under the sand. While Luidia ciliaris can live at depths ranging from four to four-hundred meters, it prefers the range of about fifty to one-hundred meters. These places are favorable to L. ciliaris because they provide a flourishing food source.
Range depth: 4 to 400 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; saltwater or marine
Aquatic Biomes: coastal
These starfish live from 2 to 3 years.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 2 to 3 years.
Luidia ciliaris is red-orange and has radial heptamerous symmetry in the adult stage. It consists of a small disk-shaped frame of plates (their mouth) surrounded by seven slighty-tapered tubular arms (each ranging in length from approximately 5-25 cm.) These tube arms lack suckers, and have double ampullae (two sets of terminal bulbs on each arm). Along each muscular arm is a band of long white spines. The arms are important to the creatures' attacks for food and escape from predators, and in almost all cases Luidia ciliaris is found, it either has an injured arm, or signs of regrowth of an arm. The internal systems of these animals have no intestine, ceca, or anus, and their gonads are arranged in a double series along the length of their arms.
Range length: 14 to 60 cm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; radial symmetry
Luidia ciliaris escapes predators because of its inconspicuousness, its protective calcite skeleton, and because it is fairly fast moving (compared to most starfish). This species is also able to escape from predators because of its ability to regenerate lost body parts within a matter of a few weeks or months.
The sexual reproduction of Luidia ciliaris is similar to the reproduction of most other starfish. The starfish gonads are arranged in a double series along the length of their arms. Fertilization of the females' eggs takes place in open water. The males' sperm is stimulated to be released following the egg release. To improve chances of the gametes meeting in the water, millions of eggs and sperm are released by each female and male.
Breeding season: Summer months: June
Average : 0.00 minutes.
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (External )
There is no parental involvement after release of gametes in this species.
Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning)
Luidia ciliaris, the seven-armed sea star, is a species of sea star (starfish) in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.[1]
L. ciliaris is an orangeish-brown colour and has seven long arms radiating from a small disk. It is a large but fragile sea star, growing to 40 cm (16 in) across, and easily losing its arms (which afterwards regenerate). The arms have parallel sides and taper only near the tip. They have a conspicuous fringe of white spines along the margins. The upper surface is clothed in paxillae, spines shaped like a pillar with a flat top bearing tiny spinules. Also, many-lobed, nipple-like papillae are seen. No marginal plates are on the upper side of the arms, but those on the lower side bear pedicellariae with two valves. The tube feet are long and numerous. They do not have suction pads, but have two sets of terminal bulbs. The gonads are arranged in two rows along the length of the arms. A mouth is at the centre of the underside, with an oesophagus and a cardiac stomach, but no intestine, pyloric stomach, or anus.[2][3]
L. ciliaris occurs on the seabed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Norway and the Faroe Islands southwards to Cape Verde and the Azores and in the Mediterranean Sea. It is found in the neritic zone at depths down to 400 m (1,300 ft), mainly on soft sediments into which it sometimes burrows, but sometimes on rock.[1][3]
L. ciliaris is a predator and scavenger and feeds predominantly on other echinoderms. A study in the Irish Sea found that the brittle stars, Ophiothrix fragilis and Ophiura albida, and the sea urchin, Psammechinus miliaris, formed the chief items of prey. The brittle star Ophiocomina nigra was also consumed, but in lesser quantities because it had more efficient escape strategies.[4]
The seven-armed sea star moves rapidly in comparison with other sea stars. It hoists itself up on the tips of its arms, in which position it can "walk",[5] before launching itself at its prey. The ring of plates around its mouth are extensible or can even be ruptured to enable it to ingest food items much bigger than the normal size of its mouth. In this way, it can pounce on a brittle star 25 cm (9.8 in) in diameter and completely engulf it. Undigested remains are ejected through the mouth.[5]
L. ciliaris breeds in early summer. Each female releases millions of eggs into the water column, which stimulates the release of sperm by the males. About 4 days after fertilisation, the zygotes develop into bipinnarial larvae, which form part of the plankton. After several moults, the seven arms can be seen developing in what is called the "rudiment", which is connected to a stalk with several bands of cilia. The larvae reach a length of 35 mm (1.4 in) in 3 to 4 months.[6] It does not become a brachiolarial larva as is the case in most sea star taxa. Instead, it settles on the sea bed and metamorphosis takes place. Functional tube feet appear in the juvenile before the larval tissue is fully reabsorbed.[5][7]
Luidia ciliaris, the seven-armed sea star, is a species of sea star (starfish) in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Étoile à sept bras
Luidia ciliaris, communément appelé l'Étoile à sept bras, est une espèce d'étoiles de mer de la famille des Luidiidae[1].
C'est une grande étoile (40-60 cm de diamètre) assez plane, pourvue généralement de 7 bras (parfois légèrement plus ou moins en fonction de la prédation et de la régénération), de longueur facilement inégale. Le corps est de couleur orangée, sans motifs, et laisse apparaître de longues épines marginales de couleur claire, très mobiles et qui servent à l'enfouissement dans le sable. Sur la face inférieure, les podia sont longs et nombreux, dépourvus de ventouse[2].
Face orale.
Détail du disque central.
Détail du bras.
Détail d'une pointe de bras avec podia.
En Irlande.
En aquarium.
Idem.
Cette espèce est présente sur le fond marin dans l'est de l'océan Atlantique de la Norvège et les îles Féroé jusqu'au sud au Cap-Vert, aux Açores et en mer Méditerranée. Elle se trouve à des profondeurs allant jusqu'à 400 voire 600 mètres[2], principalement sur les sédiments mais parfois sur des sols plus durs[1],[3]. Sciaphile, elle fuit la lumière, et se rencontre donc surtout à partir d'une vingtaine de mètres de profondeur[2].
Étoile à sept bras
Luidia ciliaris, communément appelé l'Étoile à sept bras, est une espèce d'étoiles de mer de la famille des Luidiidae.
Luidia ciliaris is een kamster uit de familie Luidiidae. De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort werd in 1837 gepubliceerd door Rodolfo Amando Philippi.
Het lichaam bestaat uit een schijf met 7 lange armen. Het dier kan meer dan 60 cm in doorsnee worden.
Dit is een vraatzuchtige soort, die zich voedt met andere zeesterren, zee-egels en brokkelsterren.
Deze soort komt voor in de noordelijke Atlantische Oceaan op grindachtige of stenige bodems.
Bronnen, noten en/of referentiesLuidia ciliaris is een kamster uit de familie Luidiidae. De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort werd in 1837 gepubliceerd door Rodolfo Amando Philippi.
Wikimedia Commons'ta Luidia ciliaris ile ilgili çoklu ortam belgeleri bulunur. 
Wikispecies'te Luidia ciliaris ile ilgili detaylı taksonomi bilgileri bulunur. Luidia ciliaris, Luidiidae familyasında sınıflandırılan bir denizyıldızı türüdür. Atlas Okyanusu'nun doğusu ile Akdeniz'de bulunur.[1]
Luidia ciliaris turuncu-kahverengi, küçük bir merkezi diskten çıkan yedi uzun kola sahip bir denizyıldızıdır. Yaklaşık 40 cm'ye kadar büyüklüğe ulaşan büyük ama kırılgan bir türdür ve kollarını kolaylıkla kaybeder. Kolların kenarları paralelldir ancak uca doğru sivrilirler. Kenarlarda belirgin beyaz dikencikler görünür. Üst ya da aboral yüzey kemikçiklerle, tepesi düz sütun şeklinde dikenciklerle kaplıdır. Çok loplu, meme ucu şeklinde papillae görülür. Kolların üst yüzünde yanlarda plakçık yoktur ana alt yüzde pediseller bulunur. Tüp ayaklar uzun ve çok sayıdadır. Yapışıcı uçları yoktur ama uçlarında ikişer yumru bulunur. Gonadlar kol boyunca iki sıra hâlinde dizilmiştir. Oral ya da alt yüzde bir ağız, yutak ve kardiyak m,de bulunur ama bağırsak, pilorik mide ve anüs yoktur.[2][3]
Luidia ciliaris, Luidiidae familyasında sınıflandırılan bir denizyıldızı türüdür. Atlas Okyanusu'nun doğusu ile Akdeniz'de bulunur.
