DiscoverSpeciesOther invertebrates
Carpet Sea Star
Meridiastra calcar
- Usual depth1–10 m
- Water temperature14–23 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, September, and October
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Sockrosma, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Meridiastra calcar, formerly classified as Patiriella calcar, is a species of sea star in the family Asterinidae. It is endemic to Australia. It is commonly known as carpet sea star, cushion sea star, or eight-armed sea star.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Meridiastra calcar”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 678 records
- February: 425 records
- March: 449 records
- April: 388 records
- May: 242 records
- June: 296 records
- July: 282 records
- August: 290 records
- September: 766 records
- October: 570 records
- November: 406 records
- December: 454 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–10 m · Deepest record: 10 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 14–23 °C
Photos
(c) ttsquid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) ttsquid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tom Fletcher, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) libby hepburn, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Michael Bakker Paiva, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Carpet Sea Star, Eight-armed Sea Star
Other scientific names: Asterias calcar, Asterias octagona, Asteriscus calcar, Patiriella calcar
Similar species
Gunn's six-armed starMeridiastra gunnii
Eastern six-armed starMeridiastra oriens
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).
- 1,732 open-data records from 1889 to 2023.
- Species data updated November 4, 2026.
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