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Metrodira subulata
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Echinodermata
Class:	Asteroidea
Order:	Spinulosida
Family:	Echinasteridae
Genus:	Metrodira
Species:	M. subulata
Binomial name
Metrodira subulata Gray, 1840
Synonyms
Fromia subulata Perrier, 1878 Linckia subulata Gray, 1840 Scaphaster humberti de Loriol, 1899 Scytaster subulatus Müller & Troschel, 1842

Metrodira subulata is a species of starfish in the family Echinasteridae. It is found on the seabed in shallow parts of the Indo-Pacific region.

Description

Metrodira subulata has long, slender tapering arms. The aboral (upper) surface has many granulations and large pores. The margins have a row of smooth plates and there are short spines at the junctions of the plates. The colour of the aboral surface is yellowish brown. The spines are red, which contrasts with the sombre body colour and is considered an aposematic trait.

References

1. ^ Mah, Christopher (2010). Mah CL (ed.). "Metrodira subulata Gray, 1840". World Asteroidea Database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
2. Gray, John Edward (1841). "A Synopsis of the Genera and Species of the Class Hypostoma (Asterias, Linnaeus)". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Including Zoology, Botany, and Geology. Taylor & Francis: 282.
3. Inbar, Moshe; Lev-Yadun, Simcha (2005). "Conspicuous and aposematic spines in the animal kingdom". Naturwissenschaften. 92 (4): 170–172. doi:10.1007/s00114-005-0608-2. PMID 15761732.

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