Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Tethyaster canaliculatus
A sea star with a large disc, five broad flattened arms (total diameter to 50 cm), and tube feet that lack suckers.
Found on subtidial sand. Observations suggest that it forages at night and burrows beneath the sand during the day.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Echinodermata
Class
Asteroidea
Order
Paxillosida
Family
Astropectinidae
Genus
Tethyaster
Species
canaliculatus
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Moiraster gigas Caso, 1947, Sideriaster canaliculata A.H. Clark, 1916, Tethyaster gigas (Caso, 1947)
Origin: Native
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- Gelin, A. Gravez, V. (2002) Lagunas costeras. In: Danulat, E. & Edgar, G.J. (eds.) (2002): Reserva Marina de Galápagos. Línea Base de la Biodiversidad. Fundación Charles Darwin/Servicio Parque Nacional Galápagos, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador, p. 119-145.
- Hickman, C.P. Jr. (2008) A field guide to corals and other radiates of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 162 pp.
- Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
- Sonnenholzner, J. Brand, M., Francisco, V., Hearn, A., Luzuriaga, M., Guarderas, P & Navarro, J. (2013) Echinoderms of Ecuador. In: Alvarado, J & Solís-Marín, A. (eds.) (2013) Echinoderm research and Diversity in Latin America. 183-233 pp.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Tethyaster canaliculatus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=8548. Accessed 4 June 2026.