Large, bulky and puffed up cushion star with a pentagonal shape and 5 almost absent arms. Its color can be very variable from red to green and brown.
Unassessed by the IUCN Red list, but this species is the most common in the (Indo-)Pacific out of the three species present.
It can be found throughout the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific, and prefers shallow, barrier- and fringing reefs, in a depth range of 0-90 meters.
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Up to 25cm.
It feeds on coral polyps (know to prey on Acropora sp. and Pocillopora sp.) and algae
The shrimp Periclimenes sorrier can often be found on this starfish when you examine it closely.