第 1276 号，共 1 402 张

Crown-of-thorns starfish

Acanthaster planci

名字的由来： Its common name comes from the long, thornlike spines that cover its upper surface, which resemble the biblical crown of thorns.1

需要看医生不要触摸很少致命，但如果它的刺扎到你，要去看医生。

海胆、海星和蠕虫

有毒的刺吃：肉

对人的危险: 严重如果它的刺扎到你，要去看医生。死亡非常罕见。

The crown-of-thorns starfish is a large starfish with long, sharp spines that look like a crown of thorns. It lives on coral reefs across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to the west coast of Central America, and it is most common around Australia. It feeds on hard coral, so it can change the reefs it lives on.1

生活在

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea, East African coast, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean to west coast of Central America; most common around Australia1

印度洋, 太平洋, 红海, 珊瑚海, 菲律宾海, 南海, 安达曼海, 阿拉伯海和波斯湾, 帝汶海和阿拉弗拉海, 孟加拉湾

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It lives where coral reefs or hard coral communities occur in tropical and subtropical waters.1

长度

25 cm到35 cm (9.8 in到1.1 ft)1

最高速度

约 0.02 公里/小时（0.01 英里/小时）

游泳, 粗略估计

它吃什么？

It is a coral predator that climbs onto living coral using its tube feet and pushes its stomach out over the coral. Digestive enzymes turn the coral tissue into liquid, which it absorbs, leaving a white scar of bare skeleton.1

Crown-of-thorns starfish的照片 — Crown-of-thorns starfish。照片：John Hepburn。 CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

怎样认出它

Adults are normally 25 to 35 cm across.1
Up to 21 arms, with long, stiff, very sharp spines that are 4 to 5 cm long on the top and sides of the arms.1
Colour varies with diet or region: purple, purple-blue, reddish grey or brown with red spine tips, or green with yellow spine tips.1
The body is flexible and can bend and twist around coral surfaces.1

常被误认为： A close relative, Acanthaster brevispinus, lives on soft sea floors at moderate depths rather than on coral reefs. The two are considered sibling species.1

毒液之力

有毒的刺

锋利的刺带着毒液。踩到或抓住它会很疼。

它的毒液会造成什么？

The spines do not inject venom. When they pierce skin, tissue containing saponins (detergent-like chemicals) is left in the wound. In humans this causes a sharp, stinging pain that can last several hours, persistent bleeding, and nausea and swelling that may last a week or more.1

它对人有多危险？

对人的危险: 严重如果它的刺扎到你，要去看医生。死亡非常罕见。

The spines can cause sharp pain, long-lasting bleeding, nausea and swelling. Brittle spines can break off and stay in the tissue.1

如果它的刺扎到你

Spines that become embedded in the tissue must be removed surgically.1
把伤口泡在热水里，水温以不烫伤为限、尽量热，然后去看医生取出刺。不要自己去挖。

一定先拨打你的急救电话（112、000、911）。这里是一般急救指导，不是医疗建议。急救基础

注意安全

永远不要摸、抓或逗弄野生动物，即使是很小的，即使它看起来在睡觉或已经死了。
给它留出空间。如果遇到它，保持冷静，慢慢后退，让它走自己的路。
如果它的刺扎到你：保持冷静，保持不动，拨打你的急救电话（112、000、911）或尽快去医院。记住它长什么样，拍张照片会有帮助。

它不是冲着你来的。它用毒液捕猎或保护自己，而且它更愿意躲起来。更多安全知识

在世界哪里？

非洲亚洲欧洲北美洲南美洲澳大利亚和大洋洲太平洋印度洋红海珊瑚海南海菲律宾海安达曼海阿拉伯海和波斯湾帝汶海和阿拉弗拉海孟加拉湾

它有多大？

它有多长？

和 11 块玩具积木排成一排一样长比花园蜗牛还慢

Crown-of-thorns starfish和你比起来有多大？

只是在你的浏览器里算一算。什么都不会被保存或发送到任何地方。

它有多快？

一只海马 约 0.0015 公里/小时 (0 mph)

Crown-of-thorns starfish 约 0.02 公里/小时 (0.01 mph)

一只花园蜗牛 约 0.05 公里/小时 (0.03 mph)

值得了解

事实

An individual starfish can consume up to 6 square metres of living coral reef per year.1

When taken out of water, its soft body ruptures and collapses, but its spines can recover their shape if it is put back in the water while still alive.1

Its body contains detergent-like saponins, so keeping starfish in small volumes of water with aeration produces large amounts of foam.1

It is one of the largest starfish in the world.1

It has lost the usual five-fold symmetry of starfish as it grew more arms, although it begins life with five-fold symmetry.1

谣言粉碎机

谣言： Its spines inject venom like a snake or stinging animal.

真相： It has no mechanism for injecting toxin. Its spines pierce skin and leave saponin-containing tissue in the wound.1

给毒液专家

学名: Acanthaster planci
类别: 海胆、海星和蠕虫
家人: Acanthasteridae2
排序: Valvatida
大洲: 印度洋, 太平洋, 红海, 珊瑚海, 菲律宾海, 南海, 安达曼海, 阿拉伯海和波斯湾, 帝汶海和阿拉弗拉海, 孟加拉湾, 海洋
宝宝: It releases vast amounts of eggs and sperm (gametes) during mass spawning events in summer, and the eggs contain saponins similar to those in adults.1
对人的危险: 3 / 5: 严重3