Crown-of-Thorns Starfish

ocean · starfish · coral reef · venomous

Huge and spiky. The crown-of-thorns starfish is one of the largest starfish in the entire world, and its whole body is covered in sharp, venomous spines that look like thorns.

Coral hunter. This starfish eats the tiny polyps that make up hard corals, using its mouth to pull nutrients right from the coral skeletons.

Named after thorns. People called it the crown-of-thorns starfish because its spiky appearance reminds them of the thorny crown from the Bible.

Poisonous spikes. The spines covering this starfish contain venom that can hurt people who touch them, so divers and swimmers have to be very careful around them.