An Odontaster Validus is a scientific name for a red sea star, a red starfish, or a red star with five legs. The Odontaster Validus lives in very cold water. They also feed on another seastar called Codontaster conspicuus. The Odontaster Validus is the greatest predator of the McMurdo sponges. The Odontaster Validus eats a lot of different and unusual things.  Some of the red stars congregate beneath seals breathing holes where they eat the seal's feces. They also eat dead fish and they nibble on sea sponges.

 

Conspicus Seastars can become completely buried under piles of attacking Odontaster validus. The Odontaster Validus is called the red star because it is usually red. The red star is usually bright to dull red on the dorsal surface and yellowish to pale pink on the ventral surface.They can also be dark brown, purple, purple-red, orange, red-orange, red, brick red, dark carmine, or pink; it may have light colored arm tips.

 

The red star lives in very cold water in Antartica. The highest temperature the red star has been found in is four degrees celsius. They usually live in water three degrees celsius or under. The Odontaster Validus is the most abundunt sea star in antartica. The Odontaster Validus is also abundant from 15 to 200 meters down into the ocean. The last thing about the Odontaster Validus is that it is in kingdom Animalia. It is in phylum Echinodermata, class Asteroidea, order Valvatida, family odontasteridea, and genus Odontaster Verrill. Last is that the red star is in species Odontaster Validus.

 

Author: Cody C

Published: 02/2008

 

Sources: http://www.tea.armadaproject.org http://www.peterbrueggeman.com Echinoderm studies

 

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