Amazing Antarctic Asteroids

An interactive guide to the starfish of the Ross Sea

An interactive guide to the starfish of the Ross Sea.

The floor of the Ross Sea region is covered in ice for much of the year, but many benthic creatures live and thrive there. For example, did you know that there are over 35 species of asteroid (starfish or sea stars) that occur in this region of Antarctica?

The common Antarctic asteroid species can now be found discovered and identified in the field with Amazing Antarctic Asteroids, a fully illustrated, interactive and downloadable pdf with high-quality images of the animals in life.

Just click on an image in the morphology index and you will be taken to a species page packed with information, beautiful images, and icons to simplify identification. This guide will be useful to expedition staff, ice divers or fisheries observers who are lucky enough to visit this amazing region.

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Amazing Antarctic Asteroids - An interactive guide to the starfish of the Ross Sea. [PDF 6.9MB]

Front cover of Amazing Antarctic Asteroids, the newly released guide to the common starfish of the Ross Sea region, Antarctica.

credit: NIWA, DTIS Camera, IPY-CAML 2008
Labidiaster annulatus Sladen, 1889. A large, many-armed starfish found on the fringes of the Ross Sea and around the islands and seamounts just north of it. [Photo credit: NIWA, DTIS Camera, IPY-CAML 2008]
credit: Rod Budd, NIWA
Odontaster validus Koehler, 1906. This species is the most common starfish in Antarctica. It occurs over a wide range of depths, and is sometimes found in large numbers. [Photo credit: Rod Budd, NIWA]
credit: Peter Marriott, NIWA
Lophaster gaini Koehler, 1912. This colourful species is found throughout the Ross Sea and around the Balleny Islands just north of the Ross Sea. [Photo credit: Peter Marriott, NIWA]
Book: Identification guides

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