About Pentaceraster cumingi (Gray, 1840)
Pentaceraster cumingi, sometimes called the Panamic cushion star, Cortez starfish, or knobby star (a common name shared with other species), is a species of starfish belonging to the family Oreasteridae. This species is found in warmer regions of the East Pacific, ranging from the Gulf of California down to northwest Peru, including offshore islands such as the Galápagos, and it also occurs in Hawaii. In Panama, specimens have been collected from the Pearl Islands at a depth of 8 meters in the Gulf of Panama, and off Coiba Island in the Gulf of Chiriqui. It grows to a diameter of approximately 30 centimeters (12 inches).
P. cumingi occurs along the coasts of the Tropical Eastern Pacific and beyond, with its northern limit at the Gulf of California and southern limit at the coast of northern Peru. It lives in the shallow subtidal zone, most commonly on rocky terrain.
This species can reproduce both sexually and asexually. It is gonochoric, meaning individuals have separate sexes. Asexual reproduction, which produces clonal offspring, happens through fission, a process that involves splitting the central disc.
