Crown of Thorns
Acanthaster cf. solaris
A many-armed coral eater covered in venomous thorns.
Crown of Thorns sea stars are native coral predators on Indo-Pacific reefs. Normal numbers are part of nature, but huge outbreaks can eat living coral faster than a reef can replace it.
Find this SeaPal in the card gallery
From field guide to game table
Bring this Crown of Thorns home
See which ready-to-play decks feature this SeaPal. Try one in the simulator before you buy, or explore each full deck list.
- 2 copies
Ready-to-play deck
Disruption Deck
Includes 2 cards featuring Crown of Thorns.
- 2 copies
Ready-to-play deck
Stinging Fortress Deck
Includes 2 cards featuring Crown of Thorns.
Quick dive
Creature passport
- Home
- Indo-Pacific coral reefs, including Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
- Favorite foods
- Living tissue from hard corals, especially branching and table corals.
- Size check
- Commonly 10–14 in; exceptional adults approach 3 ft (1 m) across
Tell-your-friends facts
Four wonderfully wild things
- 1
Adults usually have far more than the five arms of a familiar sea star.
- 2
A light-sensitive eyespot sits at the end of every arm.
- 3
Water-powered tube feet carry it across the reef.
- 4
Giant triton snails and several reef fishes can eat this spiny star.
Ocean superpower
Built to be amazing
It spreads its stomach over a coral colony and digests tissue outside its body.
Junior scientist tip
What should I look for?
Recognize a broad disk packed with many arms and long needlelike spines.
Grown-up research links
We used trusted science organizations to check this profile.