Azure sea star

Linckia laevigata

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth1–16 m
Water temperature20–30 °C
Best monthsMarch, April, and May
How commonCommon

About this species

Linckia laevigata, sometimes called the blue Linckia, or blue star, is a species of sea star commonly found in the shallow waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Linckia laevigata”, 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: 21 records
February: 36 records
March: 241 records
April: 179 records
May: 163 records
June: 59 records
July: 88 records
August: 60 records
September: 89 records
October: 108 records
November: 82 records
December: 44 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–16 m · Deepest record: 960 m

0–10 m: 186 records
10–20 m: 119 records
20–30 m: 9 records
30–40 m: 9 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 2 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 20–30 °C

20–22 °C: 2 records
22–24 °C: 2 records
24–26 °C: 15 records
26–28 °C: 26 records
28–30 °C: 142 records

Names and classification

English: Azure sea star, azure sea star, Blue Linckia, Blue Sea Star, Blue Star

Names in 7 more languages

German: Blauer Seestern
Spanish: estrella de mar azul
French: Comète de mer bleue, Étoile de mer bleue, Linckia bleue
Japanese: アオヒトデ
Korean: 푸른불가사리
Thai: ดาวทะเลสีน้ำเงิน
Simplified Chinese: 藍指海星

Other scientific names: Asterias laevigata, Linckia browni, Linckia crassa, Linckia hondurae, Linckia miliaris, Linckia rosenbergi, Linckia suturalis, Linckia typus, Ophidiaster clathratus, Ophidiaster crassa, Ophidiaster laevigatus, Ophidiaster miliaris, Ophidiaster propinquus

Similar species

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).
3,597 open-data records from 1758 to 2023.

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