Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish Turns Out To Be Four Species, Not One - AFP

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The crown-of-thorns starfish, a notorious threat to coral in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, comprises four species, not one, biologists reported on Tuesday.

The spiny predator, known by its Latin name of Acanthaster planci, has been a worsening peril to reefs for at least three decades, latching onto coral polyps and digesting them.

A paper published in the British journal Biology Letters said that most research on A. planci has been carried out on in the Pacific, triggered by devastating outbreaks of the pest on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

But DNA analysis of specimens recovered elsewhere shows the creature comprises four distinct species, it says. They are found in the Red Sea, the Northern Indian Ocean and the Southern Indian Ocean as well as in the Pacific.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Coral-killing_starfish_turns_out_to_be_four_species_not_one_999.html

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1. Springtime for crown-of-throrns starfish!