Aquilonastra conandae

It is a very small starfish, less than 2 cm (0.79 in), with seven or eight short, rounded arms, often irregular in length. This is due to its potential of regeneration, but also to its ability to reproduce through fissiparity. The arms measure 5 mm (0.20 in) in length, and the starfish has multiple madreporites and a single spine on the interradial plates. Solitary papules are present on the top of the starfish. Spikes are present and are rough, granular, and crystalline, and are conical and prominent on the arms. It has an irregular pattern of colours, showing a grey-beige background with granular patterns of reddish or greenish.

This species was first spotted at Réunion Island (south-tropical Indian Ocean) at the breakers on a coral reef at a section known as the "Watering Hole" (south of La Saline les Bains), where it is abundant. It was later identified in all the Mascarenes (mainly Mauritius and Rodrigues), where it occurs between the surface and 10 m (33 ft) but more often on the reef front and rocky cliffs, but also on volcanic flows.

A. conandae reproduces by fission in addition to sexual reproduction, which takes place at the beginning of the summer. The gonopores (genital openings) are located on the upper side, and the observed sex ratio is 52 males per 93 females, but some specimens are hermaphrodites.