Saturday, July 12, 2025

Star fish at Mount Martha Melbourne for Saturday Critter

 


While walking along the coast near Mount Martha, I came upon this starfish resting just beneath the water’s surface. Though it is a known marine pest along our shores, I could not help but appreciate the quiet moment when it appeared beside my feet as I was photographing the sea.

The image depicts a sea star—also known as a starfish—positioned upon a bed of green algae and submerged vegetation. Notably, it possesses more than the customary five arms, suggesting it may belong to a multi-armed species such as the Solaster, commonly referred to as the sun star.

These creatures are marine echinoderms, distinguished by their radial symmetry and numerous tube feet, which they employ to navigate the ocean floor. This specimen was observed in a shallow, tranquil coastal pool, where the clarity of the water revealed the richness of the marine flora beneath.


Sony A7RV

FE 70-200mm f4 G

Linking Saturday Critter


18 comments:

  1. What a great find. I would think it was unusual to see one in a coastal pool.

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    1. There was a plague of it in Sydney Ocean Pool that the pool was closed for few days

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  2. It looks like an octopus! How big is it? Starfish bring back memories to me of visits to the seaside when I was little, there we sometimes found dried small ones (with five arms) in the sand, that we took home with us.

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    1. Around the thumb size. This clearly had more than 5 arms though

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  3. It's such an attractive creature - pity it's a pest.

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  4. What a truly wonderful and inspiring moment!!! Hard to believe they are actually pests. They are not here.

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