Regular print
Regular Prints are unsigned by the author and unlimited in reprints. They are museum quality prints, not to be confused with mass-posters. Made to order, they come in three standard different sizes but customized format can be ordered.
Read our FAQs for all details.
Limited edition print
Signed by the author, they are limited to a worlwide total of 10 prints, all formats included. Collector's items, real artwork individually made to order, they are printed under the author's supervision on a paper used for museum exhibitions.
Read our FAQs for all details.
Licenses
All images are right protected, which means we control the rights to these images in order to avoid conflicts with competing clients. Some images may be bought exclusively which prevents your competitors from using the same images.
Licenses are granted for a specific period of time. Prices vary according to usage. Read our FAQs as well as our terms and conditions for all details.
crown-of-thorns starfish
This is a macro shot of a crown-of-thorns starfish "acanthaster planci".
The crown-of-thorns receives its name from venomous thorn-like spines that cover its body. Those sharp spines can pierce through wetsuits. The crown-of-thorns produces a neurotoxin which can be released through its spines. Not only are the wounds themselves serious, but the neurotoxin can cause a sharp stinging pain that can last for hours.
The crown-of-thorns is endemic to tropical coral reefs in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. It is the second largest sea star in the world.
The crown-of-thorns is a corallivore, a carnivorous predator that preys on reef coral polyps. They climb onto reef structures, and then extrude their stomach onto the coral. This releases digestive enzymes that allow the starfish to absorb nutrients from the liquefied coral tissue. They are voracious predators. An individual starfish can consume up to 6 square metres (65 sq ft) of living coral reef per year.
Population numbers for this starfish have been increasing in the last decades and, combined with other negative factors affecting the reef ecosystem (bleaching, diseases, temperature rising, etc.), it is now a threat to the coral reef ecosystem and can cause permanent and devastating damage.
ISO 200, 105mm, f-22, 1/60 s.
