Arctic cushion star

About this species

Hippasteria phrygiana, commonly known as the trojan star, is a sea star species, a member of the Goniasteridae family.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Hippasteria phrygiana”, 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: 171 records
February: 88 records
March: 317 records
April: 328 records
May: 714 records
June: 143 records
July: 939 records
August: 1,258 records
September: 429 records
October: 139 records
November: 115 records
December: 60 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 35–674 m · Deepest record: 2,240 m

0–10 m: 72 records
10–20 m: 36 records
20–30 m: 115 records
30–40 m: 203 records
40–50 m: 152 records
50–60 m: 110 records
60–70 m: 60 records
70–80 m: 73 records
80–90 m: 58 records
90–100 m: 84 records
100–110 m: 63 records
110+ m: 2,223 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -2–26 °C

-2–0 °C: 11 records
0–2 °C: 7 records
2–4 °C: 4 records
4–6 °C: 100 records
6–8 °C: 89 records
8–10 °C: 236 records
10–12 °C: 366 records
12–14 °C: 23 records
14–16 °C: 7 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 2 records
20–22 °C: 4 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Vsevolod Rudyi, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Tim Johnson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bryn, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Viktor V. Grøtan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Vsevolod Rudyi, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bernard Picton, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Arctic cushion star, Trojan Star

Names in 1 more languages

German: Flacher Kissenstern, knotiger Seestern

Other scientific names: Asterias equestris, Asterias johnstoni, Asterias phrygiana, Astrogonium aculeatum, Astrogonium phrygianum, Goniaster abbensis, Goniaster equestris, Goniaster phrygianus, Hippasteria (Nehippasteria) insignis, Hippasteria aleutica, Hippasteria argentinensis, Hippasteria armata, Hippasteria colossa, Hippasteria cornuta, Hippasteria derjungini, Hippasteria europaea, Hippasteria hyadesi, Hippasteria insignis, Hippasteria johnstoni, Hippasteria kurilensis, Hippasteria mammifera, Hippasteria pedicellaris, Hippasteria plana, Hippasteria spinosa, Hippasteria strongylactis, Hippasteria trojana

Similar species

Cookie Star
Ceramaster patagonicus
Blocked Sea Star
Fromia indica
Red Sea Star
Fromia milleporella
Peppermint Sea Star
Fromia monilis
Many-pored seastar
Fromia polypora
Large-plated Sea Star
Nectria macrobrachia

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).
5,827 open-data records from 1873 to 2024.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.