where did the crown of thorns starfish come from
Indo-Pacific
title: Crown-of-thorns starfish text: Crown-of-thorns starfish The crown-of-thorns starfish, "Acanthaster planci", is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thorn-like spines that cover its upper surface, resembling the biblical crown of thorns. It is one of the largest starfish in the world. "A. planci" has a very wide Indo-Pacific distribution. It is perhaps most common in Australia, but can occur at tropical and subtropical latitudes from the Red Sea and the east African coast across the Indian Ocean, and across the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of Central America. It title: Crown-of-thorns starfish text: that it was first described in 1705. Rhumphius used the name "Stella marina quindecium radiotorum". Later, Linnaeus described it as "Asterias planci", based on an illustration by Plancus and Gualtieri (1743), when he introduced his system of binomial nomenclature. No type specimens are known; the specimen described by Plancus and Gualtieri (1743) is no longer extant. Subsequent generic names used for the crown-of-thorns starfish included "Stellonia", "Echinaster" and "Echinites", before settling on "Acanthaster" (Gervais 1841). Species names included "echintes", "solaris", "mauritensis", "ellisii", and "ellisii pseudoplanci" (with subspecies). Most of these names arose from confusion in the historical literature, but "Acanthaster title: Starfish text: a means of defence. The Asteroidea occupy several significant ecological roles. Starfish, such as the ochre sea star ("Pisaster ochraceus") and the reef sea star ("Stichaster australis"), have become widely known as examples of the keystone species concept in ecology. The tropical crown-of-thorns starfish ("Acanthaster planci") is a voracious predator of coral throughout the Indo-Pacific region, and the northern Pacific sea star is considered to be one of the world's 100 worst invasive species. The fossil record for starfish is ancient, dating back to the Ordovician around 450 million years ago, but it is rather sparse, as starfish tend to title: Crown-of-thorns starfish text: spines on the sides of the starfish's arms and upper (aboral) surface resemble thorns and create a crown-like shape, giving the creature its name. The spines are stiff and very sharp, and readily pierce through soft surfaces. Despite the battery of sharp spines on the aboral surface and blunt spines on the oral surface, the crown-of-thorns starfish's general body surface is membranous and soft. When the starfish is removed from the water, the body surface ruptures and the body fluid leaks out, so the body collapses and flattens. The spines bend over and flatten, as well. They recover their shape title: Crown-of-thorns starfish text: tube feet on its oral surface and flexible body. It fits closely to the surface of the coral, even the complex surfaces of branching corals. It then extrudes its stomach out through its mouth over the surface to virtually its own diameter. The stomach surface secretes digestive enzymes that allow the starfish to absorb nutrients from the liquefied coral tissue. This leaves a white scar of coral skeleton which is rapidly infested with filamentous algae. An individual starfish can consume up to of living coral reef per year. In a study of feeding rates on two coral reefs in the