Brick Red Sea Star

Anthaster valvulatus

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth3–20 m
Water temperature16–20 °C
Best monthsJanuary, March, and June
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Belinda Forbes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Anthaster valvulatus is a species of sea stars in the family Oreasteridae. It is the sole species in the genus Anthaster. While its common name is the brick red seastar, individuals also occur in purple, orange and multicoloured combinations of these colours.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Anthaster”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 33 records
February: 18 records
March: 28 records
April: 13 records
May: 12 records
June: 24 records
July: 20 records
August: 9 records
September: 11 records
October: 9 records
November: 6 records
December: 17 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–20 m · Deepest record: 20 m

0–10 m: 7 records
10–20 m: 6 records
20–30 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 16–20 °C

14–16 °C: 2 records
16–18 °C: 27 records
18–20 °C: 9 records
20–22 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Belinda Forbes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Em Lamond, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Em Lamond, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Carmy, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Brick Red Sea Star

Other scientific names: Oreaster valvulatus, Pentaceros valvulatus

Similar species

Grainy Cushion Star
Choriaster granulatus
Cushion star
Culcita novaeguineae
Pincushion Cushionstar
Culcita schmideliana
Chocolate Chip Sea Star
Protoreaster nodosus
Cake sea star
Anthenea aspera
Australian Cushion Star
Anthenea australiae

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
100 open-data records from 1905 to 2001.
Species data updated October 31, 2026.

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