Cushion star

About this species

Culcita novaeguineae is a species of starfish. It has short arms and an inflated appearance and resembles a pentagonal pincushion. It is variable in colour and can be found in tropical warm waters in the Indo-Pacific.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Culcita novaeguineae”, 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: 185 records
February: 431 records
March: 251 records
April: 296 records
May: 337 records
June: 246 records
July: 348 records
August: 258 records
September: 450 records
October: 304 records
November: 286 records
December: 295 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–15 m · Deepest record: 218.5 m

0–10 m: 101 records
10–20 m: 116 records
20–30 m: 8 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 3 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–30 °C

22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 10 records
26–28 °C: 13 records
28–30 °C: 120 records

Photos

(c) Lyle Vail, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) cello caruso-turiello, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by cello caruso-turiello · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Jay Paroline, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Dan Schofield, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Robin White, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Takaaki Hattori, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Cushion star, cushion star, Pillow Cushion Star

Names in 5 more languages

German: Großer Kissenstern, Neuguineakissenstern, Östlicher Kissenseestern
French: Etoile-coussin Pacifique
Japanese: マンジュウヒトデ
Thai: ดาวหมอนปักเข็ม
Simplified Chinese: 麵包海星

Other scientific names: Anthenea spinulosa, Culcita acutispinosa, Culcita arenosa, Culcita grex, Culcita pentangularis, Culcita plana, Culcita pulverulenta, Goniaster multiporum, Goniaster sebae, Goniodiscides sebae, Goniodiscus sebae, Hippasteria philippinensis, Hosia spinulosa, Pentagonaster spinulosus, Randasia granulata, Randasia spinulosa

Similar species

Grainy Cushion Star
Choriaster granulatus
Mosaic Cushion Star
Halityle regularis
Cushion sea star
Pentaceraster alveolatus
Pentaceraster regulus
Blunt Arm Sea Star
Pentaster obtusatus

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).
1,376 open-data records from 1842 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.