Cushion Sea Star in Cozumel

A large thick orange or tan star with a raised, netted, knobbly surface and short blunt arms. Far chunkier than any other Caribbean sea star.

Quick ID

Where You Will See It In Cozumel

Cushion Sea Star works the 3 to 65 foot band. On this island that means the sheltered west-coast reefs, and the shallow east-side entries when the sea is flat — these are the sites where the depth and the habitat line up for it.

Without a boat. It is worth looking for at Chen Rio, Coral Princess and El Islote — all shore entries, so you dive them on your own schedule.

On an ordinary beginner boat dive. It should be within reach at Molas Shallow, Palancar Gardens, Paradise, Punta Dalila and San Clemente. No advanced certification needed.

Deeper, and on the walls. It is also plausible on C-53 Wreck, Cantarel (Eagle Ray Wall), Colombia Deep and Los Atolones.

Conditions change the odds more than the site does — the current, the time of day and how much the group has already stirred up the sand. Ask your guide what they have been seeing that week.

Behaviour

Feeds on the film of microorganisms in surface sand and seagrass by everting its stomach onto the substrate.

Commonly Confused With

• Other Caribbean sea stars — Nothing else here is this thick and knobbled.
• Sea biscuits — Sea biscuits are flattened oval urchins buried in sand, not stars.

Diving Etiquette And Safety

Do not lift them out of the water. A sea star held in air takes water into its vascular system and can be killed by a single photograph. Lifting starfish at El Cielo is prohibited and is the single most damaging tourist behaviour on that sandbar.

Part of the Cozumel marine life guide · see Cozumel dive sites · plan your Cozumel dive trip

Photo: Caroline Rogers, U.S. Geological Survey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.