southern sand star

Luidia australiae

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth0–45 m
Water temperature15–23 °C
Best monthsJanuary, February, and March
How commonRare

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

About this species

Luidia australiae, the southern sand star, is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean around Australia and New Zealand.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Luidia australiae”, 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: 38 records
February: 28 records
March: 42 records
April: 26 records
May: 16 records
June: 23 records
July: 23 records
August: 12 records
September: 21 records
October: 18 records
November: 16 records
December: 24 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–45 m · Deepest record: 45 m

0–10 m: 3 records
10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–23 °C

14–16 °C: 9 records
16–18 °C: 13 records
18–20 °C: 12 records
20–22 °C: 20 records
22–24 °C: 2 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: southern sand star

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).
121 open-data records from 1898 to 2009.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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