Button Star

Nardoa variolata

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth1–27 m
Water temperature24–29 °C
Best monthsApril, October, and November
How commonRare

All species

Photo credit: (c) Attila Oláh, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 13 records
February: 10 records
March: 20 records
April: 27 records
May: 14 records
June: 11 records
July: 20 records
August: 14 records
September: 20 records
October: 28 records
November: 24 records
December: 19 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–27 m · Deepest record: 108 m

0–10 m: 17 records
10–20 m: 8 records
20–30 m: 2 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 24–29 °C

24–26 °C: 23 records
26–28 °C: 8 records
28–30 °C: 2 records

Photos

(c) Attila Oláh, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Michael Bakker Paiva, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) bewambay, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Button Star

Names in 2 more languages

German: Variabler Seestern
Japanese: アズキイボヒトデ

Other scientific names: Asterias variolata, Linckia variolata, Melia variolata, Nardoa agassizi, Scytaster variolatus

Similar species

New Caledonian Sea Star
Nardoa novaecaledoniae
Brown mesh sea star
Nardoa galatheae
Bumpy sea star
Nardoa gomophia
Warty Mesh Sea Star
Nardoa tuberculata
Friant's Sea Star
Nardoa frianti
Nardoa mamillifera

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.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
37 open-data records from 1964 to 2023.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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