KidK9
Contributor
Here ya go guys, can anyone hit me with the common name as well as the scientific name? I took it at Garden Eel Cove of the Big Island of Hawaii. Thanks for a ton of help.
Yet another Identification request...
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KidK9
Contributor
That's what I thought as well...is there a scientific name someone could give me?
Machiavelli
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Acanthaster planci
Parrothead_Diver
Contributor
Looks vaguely like canabus to me... :bang:
Hank49
Contributor
KidK9:
When you see those, poke them, stomp on them, feed them to the fish, :bigun2: leave nothing that resembles life.
Ok that may be a bit harsh but those guys are nasty and for the life of me I can't figure out why God made them. Or flies too, for that matter......
redrover
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Hawaiis Sea Creatures
Acanthaster planci is shown. Notorious for its depredation of coral reefs in Hawaii, however, it has not caused extensive damage. Up to 18 in. across with 12-19 arms covered with stout sharp spines, this is an unusual star, the more so because the spines are venomous. Although this star is usually brownish red in HawaiI, it appears greenish at depths greater than about 30 ft.
Anyone have any information on the attitude toward them here in Hawaii? Ive seen more recently but maybe just recognizing them better (4 yesterday at Two Steps). Was reading about them here at ScubaBoard, was it Asia locations? It sounded like people actively handled them. Are those not venomous?
Acanthaster planci is shown. Notorious for its depredation of coral reefs in Hawaii, however, it has not caused extensive damage. Up to 18 in. across with 12-19 arms covered with stout sharp spines, this is an unusual star, the more so because the spines are venomous. Although this star is usually brownish red in HawaiI, it appears greenish at depths greater than about 30 ft.
Anyone have any information on the attitude toward them here in Hawaii? Ive seen more recently but maybe just recognizing them better (4 yesterday at Two Steps). Was reading about them here at ScubaBoard, was it Asia locations? It sounded like people actively handled them. Are those not venomous?
Hank49:When you see those, poke them, stomp on them, feed them to the fish, :bigun2: leave nothing that resembles life.
I Hawaii, it's fun to feed them to Triton's horns. Put one dwon next to a crown of thorns, and chomp!
Hank49
Contributor
redrover:
They probably turn green for the same reason blood does at depth. And yes, I've "handled" them by poking them with a bamboo stick and sticking them into fertilizer bags. I also have injected them with chlorine but you have to inject every arm at the base to kill them because there is a reproductive organ in each one. I did get poked twice. Once in the ankle bone, which was no biggie, and once in the tip of my thumb. That one hurt for months. They are venemous and painful.
They're not popular anywhere as far as I know. They have been known to devastate reefs and there have been waves of them since the big El Nino of 98. This may be due to weakened natural defenses of the reef but that's only my humble opinion. Hawaii, having deep water all around was probably not affected by the rise in temperature during the El Nino and the COTs never ran amok there....yet.
Henryville, good for you. I could never find those in the Philippines but the fishes came around after poking them for a while.
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