Yellow star

Scientific name : Linckia guildingi

Sea star with 5 elongated, almost cylindrical arms. Yellow or brown colour, with clusters of papillae giving a velvety appearence. 40 cm diameter. Encountered along the external reef.
Apart from the colour, it is distinguished from Linkia laevigata by the longer and thinner arms. Juveniles of this species have a typical mottled colour pattern. This specimen has a sixth, shorter arm.

Associated organisms
It hosts the commensal shrimp Periclimenes soror.