Chocolate Chip Sea Star
The chocolate chip sea star (Protoreaster nodosus) is a stout, horned sea star of Indo-Pacific seagrass beds and reef flats, patterned with dark spikes that resemble chocolate chips on a pale body.
The chocolate chip sea star (Protoreaster nodosus) is a stout, horned sea star of Indo-Pacific seagrass beds and reef flats, patterned with dark spikes that resemble chocolate chips on a pale body.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Chocolate Chip Sea Star in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Deuterostomia lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Spiky Armor
The conical knobs on the arms and body are skeletal protrusions that protect against fish and crabs. The color varies from tan to red.
Grazers and Predators
It feeds on algae, sponges, sea cucumbers and other invertebrates in sandy areas. Like all sea stars, it can digest prey outside the body. See Common Starfish.
Collected as Souvenirs
Dried sea stars are sold as souvenirs and aquarium animals, which have depleted populations in some places.
Chocolate Chip Sea Star at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Protoreaster nodosus |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Echinodermata |
| Class | Asteroidea |
| Order | Valvatida |
| Family | Oreasteridae |
| Field Guide group | Deuterostomia: Echinodermata (Sea Stars & Allies) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Indo-Pacific reef dweller up to 30 cm across with five thick, triangular tan-to-orange arms studded along the upper surface with dark-brown conical horn-like tubercles that resemble chocolate chips. |
| Class | Asteroidea |
| Habitat | Seagrass beds and sandy flats |
See Also
- Common Starfish — a temperate sea star
- Blue Linckia — a reef sea star