We saw these at various sites around Bali.
You can see at least three reddish commensal shrimp on the one below from Sidem.
One of the Zenopontonia soror commensal shrimp from the star in the previous photo.
While the adult Choriaster granulatus we have seen in various places (i.e., Marshall Islands, Pohnpei, Philippines, Lembeh) are pretty consistent in appearance, juveniles (below) can be quite variable in color and have a more distinct five-pointed crown on top. For a long time juveniles were considered to be a separate species, Bothriaster primigenius.
Created 6 February 2021
Updated 11 February 2024