The Egyptian Sea Star, Gomophia egyptiaca, reaches an average diameter of 25 to 30 cm (10-12 in). It typically has five slender arms that taper towards the tips, but individuals with six or even seven arms are occasionally observed. The body is usually reddish-brown or purple, with patterns of lighter white, beige, or yellow that vary between specimens. Its upper surface is covered with sharp, elongated spines, which provide a defense mechanism. Tube feet line the undersides of each arm, used for movement across the seabed.
This species occurs through this sea and the wider 🌊 Indian Ocean, on reef rock and rubble, often under overhangs. It shelters by day and moves out at night, grazing hard surfaces the way its family does: the stomach is pushed out through the mouth and laid directly over algal film, detritus and encrusting growth, so digestion happens outside the body and only liquid returns. A damaged arm regrows over months, though unlike its relative Linckia this star is not known to reproduce by shedding one.
- five long arms studded with blunt conical spines
- orange to reddish body, spines often paler
- spines arranged in regular rows along each arm
- diameter up to 30 cm
