Karakter Morfologi Bintang Laut untuk Identifikasi

Conventional identification which is still practicable up to now, relies on morphological characters of the given organism. Exoskeleton of sea star consists of millions of tiny calcareous plates which compose a central disc and five or more arms. Arm od sea stars shows great varity in terms of number, ratio between arm length and disc diameter, as well as structures. Besides, the exoskeleton is concealed by various ornaments such as paxillae, granules, spine and tubercles, and pedicellariae, in which each type modify into numerous variation. Combination of such morphological characters is used to recognize a species and distingish it from others. Oseana, Vol. XXXVII, No. 1. Hal. 7-15 ISSN 0216-1877