Skip to main content
Aquarium Home

Icon Sea Star

Iconaster Iongimanus

The icon sea star is one of the most unstudied sea stars in the Pacific Ocean and is a pretty elusive sea star. It is found in the western Central Pacific and in this tropical setting they live on the reef slopes and the sea floor. The icon sea star spends most of its time foraging for food in its habitat.

Aquarium Placeholder Image Blue with Logo

SPECIES IN DETAIL

Icon Sea Star

Iconaster Iongimanus

CONSERVATION STATUS: Not evaluated

CLIMATE CHANGE: Not Applicable

Geographic Distribution

The sea star lives in the Western Central Pacific around the Philippines and Singapore.

Habitat

The icon sea star lives on the lower reef slopes and adjacent sea beds with hard bottoms around 5—230 meters (16—755 feet) below the surface of the ocean. They live in the Western Central Pacific area around the Philippines and Singapore.

Physical Characteristics

Icon sea stars have five arms which are usually brown and orange in color. They have a solid star shaped pattern (that looks like another sea star) in the middle of their body.

Size

The size of the icon sea star is around 10 centimeters (4 inches).

Diet

The icon sea star feeds on detritus, other sea stars, mollusks, and worms on the seafloor and rocky slopes. They use their tube feet to grab their food and bring it to their mouth which is directly under the sea star.

Reproduction

They reproduce through broadcast spawning. The males release sperm and the females release eggs into the water in the hope they will come together and be fertilized. The fertilized egg then transitions into a larva and eventually an adult sea star.

Behavior

The icon sea star is usually found as a solitary organism. They do not search for food with others of their species.

Adaptation

The icon sea star has the ability to regenerate arms if they are damaged or have fallen off. Due to the icon sea star’s size, its camouflage is its strongest adaptation to prevent itself from becoming prey.

Longevity

There is insufficient research to determine the longevity of the icon sea star.

Conservation

The icon sea star is affected by human associated impacts such as the increase in ocean temperatures and acidity. Ocean acidification causes sea stars to have weaker shell-like parts and increases the chance of being crushed or eaten.

Special Notes

The icon sea star is also known as the double sea star, and the mosaic starfish.

SPECIES IN DETAIL | Print full entry

Icon Sea Star

Iconaster Iongimanus

CONSERVATION STATUS: Not evaluated

CLIMATE CHANGE: Not Applicable

The sea star lives in the Western Central Pacific around the Philippines and Singapore.

The icon sea star lives on the lower reef slopes and adjacent sea beds with hard bottoms around 5—230 meters (16—755 feet) below the surface of the ocean. They live in the Western Central Pacific area around the Philippines and Singapore.

Icon sea stars have five arms which are usually brown and orange in color. They have a solid star shaped pattern (that looks like another sea star) in the middle of their body.

The size of the icon sea star is around 10 centimeters (4 inches).

The icon sea star feeds on detritus, other sea stars, mollusks, and worms on the seafloor and rocky slopes. They use their tube feet to grab their food and bring it to their mouth which is directly under the sea star.

They reproduce through broadcast spawning. The males release sperm and the females release eggs into the water in the hope they will come together and be fertilized. The fertilized egg then transitions into a larva and eventually an adult sea star.

The icon sea star is usually found as a solitary organism. They do not search for food with others of their species.

The icon sea star has the ability to regenerate arms if they are damaged or have fallen off. Due to the icon sea star’s size, its camouflage is its strongest adaptation to prevent itself from becoming prey.

There is insufficient research to determine the longevity of the icon sea star.

The icon sea star is affected by human associated impacts such as the increase in ocean temperatures and acidity. Ocean acidification causes sea stars to have weaker shell-like parts and increases the chance of being crushed or eaten.

The icon sea star is also known as the double sea star, and the mosaic starfish.