Common Name: sand dollar
Scientific Name: Dendraster excentricus
(den-dras-ter ex-sen-trick-us)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 10 cm in diameter
• Fuzzy purplish-black sand dollars are alive; Grayish-white specimens are dead
• Their exoskeleton is called a test and has an etched star shape on the aboral (top) surface
• Have short spines and look like a flattened disk
• Tube feet for feeding and respiration, spines for burrowing and locomotion
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal and subtidal to 40-90 m deep
• Found at an angle, partly buried, poking up out of the sand to catch food particles
• Alaska to Baja California
Prey & Predators
• Prey on crustacean larvae, small copepods, detritus, diatoms, algae
• Suspension filter feeders, feed on tiny particles in the water and sand
• Food travels along small channels with the assistance of a mucus membrane, tiny cilia,
and tube feet help guide the meal to the mouth
• Sand dollars “chew” their food for 15 minutes before swallowing, 2 days to digest
• Predators are sea stars, crabs, seagulls, snails, skates
Reproduction
• External fertilization, with separate sexes that reach sexual maturity in 1-4 years
• Spawn during July and August, and produce free floating zooplankton
• Multiple spawning periods per year
• Females can produce 350,000 eggs per year
Additional Information
• “Dendr/aster” means tree/star; “excentricus” means off centre and refers to the five
petal pattern
• Christian people refer to the test as the “holy ghost shell” symbolizing the birth,
crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. The outline of an Easter lily with a five-pointed
star represents the guiding star of Bethlehem and the five narrow openings represent the
nail holes and spear wound from crucifixion. The backside is a poinsettia and the broken
test reveals the white doves of peace (the teeth)
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: green sea urchin
Scientific Name: Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis
(strong-i-low-sen-tro-tus dro-back-ee-en-sus)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 9 cm diameter
• Pale green sea urchin with short crowded spines
• Its exoskeleton, called the test, has bumps and holes from which moveable spines and
tube feet emerge for respiration, feeding, and locomotion
• Have spines used for protection, movement, and trapping drifting algae
• The mouth has 5 teeth-like plates called the Aristotle's lantern and is located on the
underside (oral) side of its body
Habitat & Range
• Rocky subtidal zones and intertidal regions to 1 200 m deep
• One of the most widely distributed: extends into the Arctic regions of both the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans including Alaska to Mexico and Japan
Prey & Predators
• Preferred food is bull kelp
• Prey on mussels, sand dollars, barnacles, whelks, periwinkles, sponges, bryozoans, dead
fish, and when hungry enough other sea urchins
• Predators are crabs, sea stars, wolf eels, humans
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Breeding occurs between February and May sometimes as late as June producing
planktonic larvae
Additional Information
• Urchins are harvested commercially in Japan for their gonads called "uni"
• Where urchins occur at high density, destructive grazing can produce habitats devoid of
seaweeds and are a main factor in controlling habitat diversity in the rocky subtidal
environment
• Most abundant sea urchin
• “Strongylocentrotus” means ball of spines
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: purple sea urchin
Scientific Name: Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
(strong-i-low-sen-tro-tus pur-pur-a-tus)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 15 cm diameter
• Short purple spines are used for protection, movement, and trapping drifting algae
• Its exoskeleton, called the test, has bumps and holes from which moveable spines and
tube feet emerge for respiration, feeding, and locomotion
• The mouth has 5 teeth-like plates called the Aristotle's lantern and is located on the
underside (oral) side of its body
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal, exposed shores to 65 m deep
• Commonly inhabit rounded burrows or depressions in rock and may attach shell
fragments and algae to their aboral surface as camouflage
• Alaska to Mexico and Japan
Prey & Predators
• Prey on brown or green algae (most common food choice), plankton, kelp, periwinkles,
occasionally tiny barnacles or mussels
• Predators are crabs, sunflower stars, snails, sea otters, some birds, fish, humans
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Sexually mature at 2 years of age or when they have reached a size of 2.5 cm
• Some become hermaphroditic
• Female urchins release several million tiny, yellow, jelly-coated eggs at a time while the
male releases sperm to produce swimming larvae
• Juvenile purple urchins are actually green
Additional Information
• Using short, heavy spines and teeth, these urchins can carve holes in rocks where they
take cover from pounding surf, luckily they can re-grow broken spines
• In Japan and others parts of Asia, the sex organs, called "uni," are a delicacy
• “Strongylocentrotus” means ball of spines
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: red sea urchin / giant red urchin
Scientific Name: Strongylocentrotus franciscanus
(strong-i-low-sen-tro-tus fran-sis-kan-us)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 12 cm in diameter, with spines up to 8 cm long
• Long abundant red to reddish brown or light to dark purple spines
• Its exoskeleton, called the test, has bumps and holes from which moveable spines and
tube feet emerge for respiration, feeding, and locomotion
• The spines are used for protection, movement, and trapping drifting algae
• The mouth has 5 teeth-like plates called the Aristotle's lantern and is located on the
underside (oral) side of its body
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal to 90 m deep
• Rocky substrates, especially ledges and crevices near bull kelp beds and other brown
algae in areas of moderate to swift currents
• Alaska to Mexico and Japan
Prey & Predators
• Prey on brown or red algae (most common food choice), plankton, kelp, periwinkles, and
occasional tiny barnacles or mussels
• Predators are crabs, sunflower stars, sea otters, birds, fish, humans
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Some become hermaphroditic
• Sexually mature at 2 years of age or when they have reached a size of 2.5 cm
• Spawning peaks between June and September
• Juveniles hide from predators under the spines of adults until 4 cm in size
Additional Information
• The biggest urchin in the Salish Sea
• Live approximately 30 years but may live up to a century
• In Asia, the sex organs, called "uni," are eaten and considered a delicacy
• “Strongylocentrotus” means ball of spines
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: giant sea cucumber / California cucumber
Scientific Name: Parastichopus californicus
(PAIR-a-stik-o-pus kal-i-forn-i-kus)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max length of 50 cm
• Mottled reddish-brown covering, cream colour on the underside
• Has more than 20 tentacles for gathering food, located in its mouth (extracted during
feeding)
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal to 250 m deep
• Mud, gravel, shell, rock rubble or solid bedrock, exposed coasts, sheltered inlets and
quiet waters
• Alaska to Mexico
Prey & Predators
• Prey on organic material in sediment, mostly bacteria, fungi, algae, detritus
• Stop feeding and become dormant from September to early March
• Predators are sun stars
Reproduction
• Separate sexes reaching maturity at 4 years of age
• Will migrate to shallow water to spawn from late April to August
• External fertilization takes place in open water producing free-swimming larvae that feed
on plankton for 35-52 days before settling to the bottom
• Juveniles are often bright red with orange spikes
Additional Information
• Largest sea cucumber in the ocean
• Commercially harvested for their 5 internal muscle strips and the body wall which is
processed and dried
• To avoid predation by a sunflower star the giant cucumber will rear back and flex
violently
• This organism can regenerate new organs for winter after expelling them during capture
or its dormant phase
• Travel up to 3.9 m a day feeding
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: creeping pedal sea cucumber /
armored sea cucumber
Scientific Name: Psolus chitonoides
(so-lus kite-on-oye-dees)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Yellow to orange body with 10 brilliant orange tentacles in its mouth (seen when feeding)
• Long, soft foot up to 7 cm long
• Oval, domed body with stiff, shingle-like scales and a flat, flexible sole
• Underside consists of tube feet used for respiration and locomotion
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal to 250 m deep
• Exposed coasts to sheltered inlets but seem to prefer clean, vertical rock that is free of
sediment
• Alaska to Mexico and Japan
Prey & Predators
• Suspension filter feeders that trap particles in their tentacles
• Mouth lips extend toward the particle as the nearest tentacle pushes it into the mouth
• Predators are sea stars and fish
• Possess toxic chemicals on its tentacles, discouraging predators
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Spawning occurs mid March to late May in the early morning
• Females release long ropes of brick red eggs
• Fertilized eggs develop into swimming larvae
Additional Information
• Sea cucumbers have inhabited the world’s oceans for about 400 million years
• Parasitic forms of flatworms and snails can live inside the sea cucumber
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: red sea cucumber / orange sea cucumber
Scientific Name: Cucumaria miniata
(KEW-kum-air-ee-ah min-ee-at-ah)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 20 cm in length
• Brick red, smooth skin with 5 rows of brown tube feet
• 10 busy orange-red tentacles equal in size
• Sea cucumbers undergo annual fluctuations in body mass by reabsorbing and
regenerating their internal organs
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal regions to 225 m deep
• Shallow subtidal to 25 m depth among sheltered rock rubble
• Alaska to Mexico and Japan
Prey & Predators
• Prey on plankton and detritus by filtering and absorbing nutrients with their tentacles
• Minimal feeding between November and March
• Predators are sea stars, sun stars, humans
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Spawning occurs during spring and summer months developing into planktonic larvae
Additional Information
• Have limited mobility, travel about 4 m per day including seasonal migration
• Commercially harvested for their 5 internal muscle strips and the body wall which is
processed and dried
• Only sea cucumber species currently harvested in British Columbia
• “Miniata” means bright red or vermilion
• There is no scientific way to age or sex these species
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: white sea cucumber / stiff-footed sea cucumber
Scientific Name: Eupentacta quinquesemita
(eew-pen-tack-ta kwin-kew-semi-ta)
www.bcarchives.bc.ca/Natural_History/Invertebrates.html
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 10 cm long
• White body with 5 thick rows of stiff ossicles (protruding skeletal elements)
• Many semi-retractable tube feet
• 10 short, retractable, branched tentacles located in its mouth (seen during feeding)
Habitat and Range
• Intertidal to 55 m
• Between rocks or exposed, in currents
• Sitka, Alaska to Mexico
Prey and Predators
• Prey on detritus and plankton
• Predators are sea stars
Reproduction
• Spawning occurs in the spring
• External fertilization, sperm and eggs are broadcasted into the ocean
• Eggs, embryos, and larvae are greenish in colour
Additional Information
• Toxic to fish
• When disturbed or in danger, will eject part of its digestive tract which can be
regenerated at a later date
• Adults rarely expose their tentacles during daylight hours
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: blood star / Pacific henricia
Scientific Name: Henricia leviuscula leviuscula
(hen-ree-see-ah lee-vy-us-kew-la)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 20 cm from the tip of one ray to the tip of the other
• Five arm rays that are long and tapering up to 16 cm
• Small central body usually 4-5 cm
• Some have grey or light patches near the centre of the body or on the upper arms
Habitat & Range
• Low intertidal to subtidal depths of 400 m
• Protected rock in shallow waters, under rocks, caves, and tide pools
• Frequently found in ecosystems consisting of sponges and corals
• Alaska to Mexico, Japan and Siberia
Prey & Predators
• Prey on bacteria and other tiny particles, sponges, bryozoa (coral)
• Sea stars pull open bivalves and extend their stomach into any opening to digest its meal
• Predators are sea otters, seagulls
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Males broadcast sperm in open waters from April to May
• Juveniles, less than 10 mm, live on tube worms
Additional Information
• “levis” means smooth
• The most common of all the brilliant red to orange slender armed sea stars that live in the
shallow waters of the Salish Sea
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: brittle star
Scientific Name: Ophiuroidea (Class)
(oh-feur-oi-dee-ah)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 35 cm from tip to tip
• Usually have 5-9 very long and slender arms, attached but separate from the central disk
• Arms of this brittle star look like many tiny hairs, but are actually spines
• Exoskeletons can vary greatly in colour from species to species
• Do not have a brain, but have nerve cells located around its body
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal waters to 4,300 m deep
• Commonly found in dense aggregations on the rocky sea floor
• Some burrow and some swim
• Alaska to Mexico
Prey & Predators
• Prey on plankton and detritus (dead and dying animal debris) collected by filtering food
from the circulating water
• Predators are fish, crabs, and other larger sea stars.
• Their best defense is to crawl away or lose an arm to their enemies to save themselves
Reproduction
• Separate sexes broadcast sperm and eggs in open water and produce free-floating
planktonic larvae
• Some species produce fewer eggs and are brooded by the mother
Additional Information
• There are more than 2,000 species of brittle stars in the world
• Gentle, very delicate creatures that do not harm humans
• A brittle star can survive with only one arm
• Have ocelli (eye spots) on arms that detect light
• Nocturnal creatures who avoid sunlight
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: mottled star / false ochre star
Scientific Name: Evasterias troschelii
(EVE-a-ster-ee-as TROS-kel-ee-eye)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 60 cm
• 5 rays (arms) with a radius of 20 cm
• Colour varies between species from orange to brown to bluish grey
• Have a small central disk and tapering arms
• Found in clusters/colonies
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal to 75 m deep
• Most substrates (surfaces)
• Alaska to California
Prey & Predators
• Prey on limpets, snails, brachiopods, oysters, barnacles, sea squirts, chitons, tunicates,
other bivalves
• Predators are other sea stars, sea gulls
Reproduction
• Separate sexes broadcast sperm and eggs into open water and produce free-floating
planktonic larvae
Additional Information
• Sea stars pull bivalve shells apart with their tube feet and turn their stomach inside out to
push it inside the shells to digest the clam
• Juvenile mottled stars are occasionally confused with drab six-armed stars
• Most common sea star in BC
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: purple star / ochre star
Scientific Name: Pisaster ochraceus
(pie-zaster oh-KRA-see-us)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 50 cm in diameter
• Purple with small white blunt spines that form line patterns
• Colour can vary from purple to orange, yellow, green and red
• Have 5 arms called rays
• The bottoms of their arms are covered in small, extendable suction-like feet called “tube
feet” used for locomotion
• Have ocelli (eye spots) at the tip of each ray that detect light but cannot see
Habitat & Range
• Mid to low intertidal zones to 100 m deep
• Rocky substrates, commonly found in tidepools
• Alaska to Mexico
Prey & Predators
• Prey on mussels, snails, limpets, chitons, barnacles or sea urchins
• Sea stars pull open bivalves and extend their stomach into any opening to digest its meal
• Predators are shore birds, sea otters
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Spawning occurs from April to June
• Can produce up to 40 million eggs
Additional Information
• “Keystone species”—if this species is removed from an area, local biodiversity
diminishes
• One of the most common sea stars in the Salish Sea
• Known to live 20-40 years from larva to adult
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: rainbow star / painted star /
long-armed sea star
Scientific Name: Orthasterias koehleri
(orth-a-ster-ee-as ko-el-er-eye)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 60 cm from one ray tip to another
• 5 slender banded arm rays
• Rainbow stars may be plain yellow or blue, most have white or purple spines, and wear
red arm-bands or white patches
• When handled this species will drop its arms
Habitat & Range
• Low intertidal zones to 230 m deep
• Common in soft and rocky substrates
• Alaska to Mexico
Prey & Predators
• Prey on small snails, limpets, clams, oysters, scallops, chiton, barnacles, tunicates
• Sea stars pull open bivalves and extend their stomach into any opening to digest its meal
• Predators are other sea stars, sea gulls
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Breeding occurs between June and August
Additional Information
• Live at least 9 years
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: vermilion star / equal armed star
Scientific Name: Mediaster aequalis
(Mee-dee-aster ee-kwal-is)
©Bernard P. Hanby
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 20 cm in diameter
• Bright vermillion, orange-red body
• 5 cone-shaped ‘rays’ of equal length
Habitat & Range
• Shallow subtidal to 500 m deep
• Rocks shell, sand, gravel, pebbles and mud
• Alaska to Mexico
Prey & Predators
• Prey on sponges, sea pens, moss animals, detritus, bivalves
• Sea stars pull open bivalves and extend their stomach into any opening to digest its meal
• Predators are birds, sea otters
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Become sexually mature at the age of 4
• Breeding occurs in the spring between March and May
• Produce approximately 1,800 eggs per year
Additional Information
• Similar to the gunpowder star who is lighter in colour and has broader arm rays
• This sea star can move anywhere between 27 and 40 cm per minute
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: leather sea star / garlic sea star
Scientific Name: Dermasterias imbricate
(der-ma-stare-ee-as im-brick-i-tee)
Photo courtesy A.Brown
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 25 cm in diameter
• Bright mottled reddish-brown and orange body with 5, 6 or rarely 7 cone-shaped ‘rays’
of equal length
• Smooth, slimy skin (secretes mucous making it slippery to touch)
• Does not have dorsal spines
• The dorsal gills look like a fuzzy covering of rusty brown and the outside edge is a
greenish-grey colour
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal zone to 90 m deep
• Rocks, shell, sand, gravel, pebbles and mud
• Alaska to Mexico
Prey & Predators
• Mainly eats sea anemones and sea squirts but will also eat sponges, cucumbers, sea pens,
moss animals, detritus
• Predators are birds, sea otters
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization becoming sexually mature at the age of 4
• Breeding occurs in the spring between March and May
• Produce approximately 1,800 eggs per year
Additional Information
• When disturbed releases a chemical that smells like garlic
• Sea otters tend to eat only a part of the leather star, which allows sea star to regenerate
• “derma” means skin; “imbricatus” means covered with tiles or scales
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: feather stars
Scientific Name: Florometra serratissima
(flor-o-met-ra ser-rat-iss-ee-ma)
Photo courtesy A. Brown
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 25 cm in height
• 5 to10 feathery fringed, tan to reddish arms (rays)
• Feather stars are stalkless
• Essentially an upside down brittle star
• Central mouth facing upwards with an anus cone just off centre
• Use legs (called cirri) to walk and perch on sponges, coral, or rock while feeding
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal to 100 m deep
• Rock walls in current
• Alaska to Mexico
Prey & Predators
• Suspension feeders that trap plankton from passing water currents in sticky arm grooves
• Travel to improve feeding opportunities
• Predators are decorator crabs, sunflower stars
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with no obvious differences between them
• Males spawn first and trigger the females’ discharge of eggs which are immediately
fertilized
• Different species breed at different times
Additional Information
• Rare, primitive species
• As defense, some produce toxic compounds, some have spines, and some swim away
• Like sea stars, feather stars regenerate lost arms
• Feather stars can provide shelter to some species and host parasites
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: striped sun star / stimpson’s sun star
Scientific Name: Solaster stimpsoni
(SOL-aster stimp-sone-eye)
Photo courtesy BC Marine Life
Defining Characteristics
• Average arm length of 23 cm, average diameter of 51 cm
• Typically orange or yellow with a blue or purple stripe on aboral (top) side of each arm
• Normally have 10 arms, but have between 8-12
• Can curl its arms up over its body to take on a spherical shape and tumble with ocean
currents
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal zones to 60 m in depth
• Rocky substrates; less common in sandy substrates
• Bearing Sea to Oregon to Japan
Prey & Predators
• Prey on tunicates, lampshells, sea pens, brachiopods, sea squirts, nudibranchs
• Most favorite food is the sea cucumber
• Predators are sunflower stars
• Not known to eat other sea stars
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Spawning occurs from February to March developing into planktonic larvae
Additional Information
• “Sol / aster” means Sun / star
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: spiny pink sea star / giant pink sea star
Scientific Name: Pisaster brevispinous
(pie-zaster bre-vee-spin-ous)
Photo courtesy BC Marine Life
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 64 cm in diameter
• Soft pinkish grey, flabby textured with short spines
• 5 stiff arms
Habitat & Range
• Subtidal to 185 m deep
• Shallow waters on sandy, muddy or broken sea shelled substrates
• Alaska to California
Prey & Predators
• Prey on clams, sand dollars, mussels, barnacles, tubeworms
• Sea stars pull open bivalves and extend their stomach into any opening to digest its meal
• Have been known as scavengers that feed on decaying fish
• Predators are shore birds, sea otters
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Breeding occurs in the spring between April to August
Additional Information
• The giant pink sea star does not tolerate being out of water very well so is generally
found on the beach only during very low tides
• “brevis” means short and “spina” means spines
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: bat star / broad disk sea star
Scientific Name: Patiria miniata
(pay-teer-ee-ah min-ee-a-tah)
Photo courtesy BC Marine Life
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 20 cm in diameter
• Wide variety of solid and mottled colors, including red, orange, yellow, brown, green and
purple
• Pointed arms with soft skin
• Webbing between their short, triangular arms gives them a bat-like look
• Normally have 5 arms, but occasionally have as many as 9
Habitat & Range
• Extreme low intertidal zones to 300 m deep
• Rocky substrates, especially surf grass, algae, sponges, bryozoans
• Alaska to California
Prey & Predators
• An omnivore and scavenger
• Prey on surf grass, sea stars, tunicates, algae
• Sensors at the end of each arm sense light and detect prey
• Feed by extending its stomach over prey
• Predators are shore birds, sea otters
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Spawning occurs from May to July but some reproduce throughout the year
Additional Information
• Most have annelid worms living in commensal symbiosis (neither harmful or beneficial)
living on the oral surface or in the ambulacral grooves (where the tube feet are)
• When two bat stars bump into each other, a gentle brawl begins. They seem to be “arm
wrestling” in a slow skirmish motion
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: sunflower star
Scientific Name: Pycnapodia helianthoides
(pike-na-po-dee-ah heel-ee-an-tho-eye-dees)
Adult
Juvenile
Photo courtesy BC Marine Life
Defining Characteristics
• Can reach a diameter of more than 1 m and weigh 5 kg
• Up to 26 arms bearing 15,000 tube feet
• Gain rays as it grows until it has more than 20, typically 24
• Pink-purple or yellow-orange in color and has a rather fluffy look
• Aboral (top) surface is soft and flexible
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal to 120 m deep
• Soft mud, gravel, sand, pebbles, rock
• Alaska to Mexico
Prey & Predators
• Prey on sea urchins and bivalves (preferred), almost any invertebrate that wanders into its
path including other sea stars
• Has been known to eat sea urchins whole
• Predators are sea gulls, crabs, other sunflower stars
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Spawning occurs from March to July producing free swimming planktonic larvae
Additional Information
• Largest sea star on the planet
• Known as the T-rex of the sea floor
• Sunflower stars readily drops arms when disturbed or irritated triggered by chemical
release but will regenerate
• “pycno/podia” means many legged, “helianthoides” means sunflower
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: rose star / snowflake star / spiny sun star
Scientific Name: Crossaster papposus
(cross-as-ter pap-o-sus)
Photo courtesy BC Marine Life
Defining Characteristics
• Average arm length is 18 cm
• Variable colours ranging from solid purple or red to bright orange, red, or yellow
• Number of arms range between 8 to 16, but normally have 10 or 11
• Spiny aboral (top) surface
• Mortality rates are low and they can live around 20 years
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal zones to 1 200 m deep
• Common on a variety of substrates from soft mud, gravel, sand, pebbles, to rock
• Circumpolar to 40˚ N latitude to the British Isles and Northern Europe
Prey & Predators
• Prey on scallops (preferred), sea pens, nudibranchs, sea squirts, bivalves, other sea stars
• Predators are sea gulls, crabs
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Spawning occurs from March through April
• Produce approximately 6,000 larvae
Additional Information
• “Cross/aster” means fringed star and “papposus” means downy
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: basket star
Scientific Name: Gorgonocephalus eucnemis
(Gor-gon-oh-seph-ah-lus yewk-neem-is)
Skeleton
Living Species
Photo courtesy BC Marine Life
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 46 cm
• Color varies from yellowish brown to darker brown with lighter arms
• Shallow-water basket stars are predominantly nocturnal
• Very thin, long branchlets that may appear almost similar to vines
• These tentacles can reach lengths of 20 inches
• Five sturdy arms with joints have short hooked spines
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal zones to 1,850 m deep
• Rocky bottoms swept by currents
• Bering Sea to California, Japan, Siberia, Greenland
Prey & Predators
• Prey on zooplankton, primarily macroscopic crustaceans like krill
• To feed they snag plankton in their canopy of branching arms and guide them to its
mouth on the underside of the center disk
• Predators are sunflower sea star, crabs
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Broadcast sperm and eggs
Additional Information
• Basket stars were named after the snake-haired sisters of Greek mythology
• Basket stars should never be exposed to air if handled
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: sandstar / spiny mudstar
Scientific Name: Luidia foliolata
(lew-id-ee-ah fol-ee-o-la-ta)
Photo courtesy BC Marine Life
Defining Characteristics
• 5 long arms up to 33 cm long
• Dull grey to brown often partially buried in soft substrates
• Flat aboral (top) surface
• Tube feet are large, pointed and aid in locomotion
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal waters to 620 m deep
• Soft substrates such as sand, mud, and broken shells
• Alaska to California and the Galapagos Islands
Prey & Predators
• Prey on gastropods, bivalves, urchins, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, polychaete worms,
crustacean, tusk shells, fish
• Predators on sunflower star, crabs, sea gulls
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Breeding season is unknown but eggs have been observed April, August, and January
Additional Information
• Tube feet are pointed and without suckers on spiny mudstars found in sand, those found
on rocks have large suckers
• A large amount of water leaks out of these sea stars when they come out of the water
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common Name: long-ray star / black sea star /
velcro star / fish-eating star
Scientific Name: Stylasterias forreri
(steye-la-stare-ee-as four-er-eye)
Photo courtesy Sea Net
Defining Characteristics
• Max arm length of 33 cm
• Large slender arms with wreathes of pinchers ‘pedicillariae’ (jaw-like appendages)
• Grey to black in colour
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal waters to 555 m deep
• Rocky, shelled-gravel substrate
• Alaska to California
Prey & Predators
• Prey on gastropods, bivalves, urchins, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, polychaete worms,
crustaceans, tusk shells, fish
• Predators are sea gulls, crabs, other sunflower stars
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Spawning occurs around August
Additional Information
• Readily drops its arms when stressed
• Tube feet aid in locomotion and this sea star can travel up to 19 m per hour
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009.
Phylum Echinodermata
Common name: spiny red sea star
Scientific name: Hippasteria spinosa
(HIP-a-STEER-ee-ah spin-OH-sah)
Photo courtesy RaceRocks
Defining Characteristics
• Max size of 17 cm in diameter
• Bright orange to red which intensifies at its 5 short stalky arms
• Creamy white on the oral surface (underside)
• Covered in large prominent stubby spines on their dorsal surface
Habitat & Range
• Intertidal waters between 4 and 620 m deep
• Prefers muddy, shallow environments and can also be found in shell and rock
• Alaska to California
Prey & Predators
• Prey on orange sea pens, white plume anemone, sea squirts, polychaete worms, the eggs
of nudibranchs
• Predators are sea gulls, crabs, other sunflower stars
Reproduction
• Separate sexes with external fertilization
• Breeding occurs between May through June
Additional Information
• “Spina” means thorn
© Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 2009
Phylum Echinodermata