Luidia australiae

Southern sand star

Luidia australiae, Jervis Bay, NSW, Photo: Graham Edgar

Same Genus

Luidia foliolata

Distribution

Temperate Australasia

Description

Large, conspicuous, seven-armed species that is often first detected by its star-shaped imprint when buried in soft sediment. It has a mottled green and grey upper surface, covered by small plates. It is an active predator, its diet consisting mainly of bivalves and heart urchins.

Information

Max Size: 40 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 17.1-23.7°C

Depth: 0-110m

Habitat Generalization Index: N/A

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.

Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Not Evaluated

Occurrence: Infrequent (2.4% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.

Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney