National Museum of Natural Science

The most common organisms that parasitize sea stars are small sea snails. Some sea snails are ectoparasites, living on the surface of the sea star, while others embed themselves in the sea star’s body, absorbing body fluids and tissue. In the wild, these parasites do not parasitize in large numbers, with only a few on any particular host. Therefore, they will not greatly impact the host or cause the host to die. In this way, they also ensure their survival. Anthenoides granulosus belongs to the family Goniasteridae. It is abundant in the waters around Donggang. Many specimens are found with parasitic sea snails.

Anthenoides granulosus with ectoparasitic sea snail