Meridiastra oriens

Eastern six-armed star | Patiriella gunnii | Patiriella oriens
Meridiastra oriens
Meridiastra oriens, Port Stephens, NSW, Photo: Tom Davis

Distribution

Temperate Australasia


Description

Six-armed shape similar to M. gunnii and two other recently described species, M. medius and M. occidens. It generally has a dark central disk with combinations of two or more colours, including brown, red, cream, green and blue. The species is common under rocks off the southeast coast.


Information

Max Size: 8 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 11.8-23.5°C

Depth: 0-30m

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 (1.8% 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: Few (3 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