The crown-of-thorns starfish is among the strangest marine creatures on the planet. This starfish is named after the biblical crown of thorns placed upon Jesus′ head during the New Testament because of the many spikes lining this creature′s body.
You can find the crown-of-thorns starfish on reefs, most notably the Central Great Barrier Reef. This creature prefers shallow locations where it has plenty of food nearby and hiding spots, although it′s large.
The appearance of the crown-of-thorns starfish in multiple reefs in the Samoa area since these creatures enjoy eating live coral and have caused chaos to the coral population in the area.
The crown-of-thorns starfish can eat anywhere between six to ten square meters of coral reef in only one year.