---
title: "Spiny Starfish"
description: "Marthasterias glacialis — Other animals. Marthasterias is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/spiny-starfish
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Spiny Starfish

> Marthasterias glacialis — Other animals. Marthasterias is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae.

- Scientific name: *Marthasterias glacialis*
- Category: `other` (Other animals)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 5514
- iNaturalist taxon: [1017167](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1017167)

## Names

- en: Spiny Starfish
- de: Eisstern
- es: Estrella espinosa común
- fr: Étoile de mer glaciaire

## Countries with the most observations

PT (1510), FR (1322), ES (774), GB (551), HR (355), IE (159), NO (120), IT (109), GR (103), SE (46), TR (21), MA (16)

## Summary

Marthasterias is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Both species in the genus are commonly known as the spiny starfish.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marthasterias

## Photo

![Spiny Starfish](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/spiny-starfish/medium.jpg)

Photo: Héctor Ibáñez Cantero · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/199298328

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/spiny-starfish?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).