Sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides)
Sunflower stars have more arms than other starfish, sometimes having as many as twenty four! They can grow very large, becoming as much as 80cm (31in) across.
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About the Sunflower star
The sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) is a large predatory sea star usually with 16-24 limbs called rays. It is the largest sea star in the world. Sunflower sea stars can grow to have an arm span of 1 m (3 ft.) in diameter. The color of the sunflower sea star ranges from bright orange, yellow and red to brown and sometimes to purple, with soft, velvet-textured bodies and 16-24 arms with powerful suckers. Most sea star species have a mesh-like skeleton that protects their internal organs. Easily stressed by predators such as large fish and other sea stars, they can shed arms to escape, which will grow back within a few weeks. They are part of the diet of the king crab.
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Scientific Classification
Phylum: Echinoderm (Echinodermata)
Order: Forcipulatida
Family: Asteriidae
Genus: Pycnopodia
Species: Sunflower starfish (helianthoides)
Common Names
- Sunflower sea star
- Sunflower starfish
The Sunflower star is
Adaptation data provided by Animal Diversity Web
Elsewhere on the web
- Pycnopodia helianthoides (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- North Island Explorer: Sunflower Star facts and photos (northislandexplorer.com)
- Monterey Bay Aquarium: Sunflower star fact file (montereybayaquarium.org)
- Invertebrates of South Puget Sound: sunflower star (nwmarinelife.com)
- Sunflower starfish (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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