Panamic Cushion Star, Pentaceraster cumingi

Panamic Cushion Star, Pentaceraster cumingi. Sea Star provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, September 2015. Wingspan: 20 cm (7.9 inches).

Panamic Cushion Star, Pentaceraster cumingi. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2017 and November 2018. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Panamic Cushion Star, Pentaceraster cumingi. Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, November 2021. Photograph and identification courtesy of Maude Jette, Dive Zihuantanejo, www.Divezihuatanejo.com.

The Panamic Cushion Star, Pentaceraster cumingi (Gray, 1840), is a member of the Oreasteridae Family of Cushion Starfish, and is known in Mexico as Panámica de Colchὀn. There are 20 global members of the Pentaceraster Genus.

The Panamic Cushion Star has a thick and inflated disc and moderately short arms. The aboral surface may be brown to gray in color and is covered with numerous orange or red conical spines that are often connected with a brown reticulate (net-like) pattern that may extend to cover most of the surface. The gray individuals have brown tips. The Panamic Cushion Stars reach a maximum of 17.5 cm (6.9 inches) in diameter.

The Panamic Cushion Star is found on rocky reefs, rubble and occasionally on the sand between reefs. They feed on algae, barnacles, detritus, echinoderms, and other small invertebrates. The commensal Sea Star Shrimp, Periclimenes soror, may be found living on the underside of this sea star. They reside in the lower intertidal zone to depths up to 183 m (600 feet). Panamic Cushion Stars are known to form large aggregations at various locations throughout their range, including the Central and Southern Sea of Cortez. These aggregations, sometimes exceeding 2,500 individuals, are thought to be related to reproduction. In the Sea of Cortez, these aggregations occur during the months of July, August, and September. The aggregations are short lived, usually dispersing after two or three days.

The Panamic Cushion Star is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, and northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.

Synonyms include Oreaster hawaiiensis, Oreaster occidentalis, Pentaceros cumingi, Pentaceros hawaiiensis and Pentaceros occidentalis.