description de Antedon mediterranea - Mediterranean feather-star

Description

Antedon mediterranea is a feather-star of up to 20 cm in diameter. It has 10 feathery branched arms and between 25 to 30 cirri. Its color is variable: white, yellow, brown or red. It is attached temporarily to other invertebrates (sponges, sea-fans) or to hard substrata by means of its cirri, generally in current-swept areas where it can catch plankton with its extended arms.

Distribution

Antedon mediterranea is present from surface to 80 m deep in the Mediterranean Sea.

Classification

Source : World Register of Marine Species
Biota (Superdomain)
Animalia (Kingdom)
Echinodermata (Phylum)
Crinozoa (Subphylum)
Crinoidea (Class)
Articulata (Subclass)
Comatulida (Order)
Antedonoidea (Superfamily)
Antedonidae (Family)
Antedoninae (Subfamily)
Antedon (Genus)
Antedon mediterranea (Species)

Glossaire de la page

Cirri : articulated prehensive extensions arising from the lower surface of the central disc used to cling on hard substrata.

Authors

Photos : © Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with his kind permission.
Websites and reference works : Consult bibliography

Image satellite: © Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and the GIS User Community.

Données de distribution : Antedon mediterranea (Lamarck, 1816) in GBIF Secretariat (2019). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-09-16.

Classification

Source : World Register of Marine Species

Biota (Superdomain)
Animalia (Kingdom)
Echinodermata (Phylum)
Crinozoa (Subphylum)
Crinoidea (Class)
Articulata (Subclass)
Comatulida (Order)
Antedonoidea (Superfamily)
Antedonidae (Family)
Antedoninae (Subfamily)
Antedon (Genus)
Antedon mediterranea (Species)

Page glossary

Cirri : articulated prehensive extensions arising from the lower surface of the central disc used to cling on hard substrata.

Authors

Photos : © Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat. Published with his kind permission.
Websites and reference works : Consult bibliography

How to cite this page

Bay-Nouailhat A., June 2007, Description of Antedon mediterranea, [On line] https://www.european-marine-life.org/30/antedon-mediterranea.php, consulted on 2025 September 16.

Author

Anne Bay-Nouailhat

Chargée d’études en environnement marin
Plongeuse professionnelle - Naturaliste