Acanthaster

Acanthaster, meaning "spine, thorn", and ἀστήρ is a bitypic genus of large and venomous starfish placed in the monotypic family, Acanthasteridae. Its two members are known as crown-of-thorns starfish. Acanthaster are native to coral reefs in Indo-Pacific region.
The species in this genus are a contributor to coral reef degradation because they prey on a large amount of live coral at high density.

Species

These species are listed in the World Register of Marine Species:

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
	Acanthaster brevispinus Fisher, 1917	western Pacific Ocean, southeast Asia
	Acanthaster planci	Indo-Pacific

Some sources add Acanthaster ellisi, in the eastern Pacific, but it is now considered as a subspecies of A. planci.
Haszprunar, Vogler & Wörheide suggest to split "A. planci" in :

Acanthaster planci -- Northern Indian Ocean, always purple-blue and red
Acanthaster mauritiensis de Loriol, 1885 -- Souther Indian Ocean
Acanthaster solaris -- Pacific Ocean
Acanthaster benziei Wörheide, Kaltenbacher, Cowan & Haszprunar, 2022—Red Sea.