About Protoreaster lincki (Blainville, 1830)
Protoreaster lincki (Blainville, 1830), commonly called the red-knobbed starfish, grows to a maximum diameter of 12 inches (30 cm). It has five arms, along which numerous bright red tubercles extend upward from the body. The main body of the starfish is gray, with red stripes connecting the tubercles. This pattern creates the appearance of a grid made of interconnecting wires. Its internal skeleton is made up of many calcareous ossicles and spicules, which sit inside the connective tissue layer and support the starfish's large central disk. This species is distributed in the western Indian Ocean, where it occurs mostly along the African coast and Madagascar, and ranges north to India and Sri Lanka. A small population of the species is also found in Coral Bay, Western Australia. Red-knobbed starfish prefer sandy or muddy seabeds, as these substrates make it easier for them to search and forage for food. While the species is most often observed in shallow tidal pools, it can live at a range of depths down to 100 m (330 ft) deep. Red-knobbed starfish are carnivorous animals that feed on a variety of sea creatures.
