“The cushion star, like all sea stars, moves on a system of tube feet, so-called because they are operated by a hydraulic system controlled by the main body” (Oceana, 2023).
These sea stars feed primarily on coral “by inverting their entire stomach, through the mouth, and digesting the soft tissue off of a coral’s skeleton or the meat out of a clam, right in the open environment sucking down the available nutrients” (Oceana, 2023).
They live in shallow water in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and are the largest sea star in this habitat. They can get up to twenty inches in diameter. You can look at them, but don’t harvest them—it is illegal in Florida (iNaturalist, n.d.).
Reflection:
Would you like to see those tube feet in action? Watch this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIjyfSZUMtk
References:
Oceana. (2023, March 10). Cushion Star – Oceana. https://oceana.org/marine-life/cushion-star/
Red Cushion Sea Star (Oreaster reticulatus). (n.d.). iNaturalist. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/49500-Oreaster-reticulatus