Psilaster charcoti (Koehler, 1906)

Species details

NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 116. Echinodermata: Asteroidea. Adaptations within Antarctic Ecosystems SCAR 3.

Species distribution

on a variety of substrates, but most commonly found on mud. Occurs from Sub-Antarctica to the Antarctic Peninsula and Continent.

Psilaster charcoti employs a variety of feeding strategies: actively preying on some invertebrate species, scavenging on dead material and faeces and ingesting mud to utilise any food in it. It produces large amounts of mucous, which indicates that it probably is also sometimes a ciliary-mucous feeder, collecting falling detritus with the mucous, which is then passed along to the mouth and ingested.
Other names: Ripaster charcoti