Sunflower Starfish Underside Showing Stomach Pycnopodia helianthoides Puget Sound Washington
The sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) is a large predatory sea star with 15-26 limbs called rays. They can grow up to 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.
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Photo credit: © Phil Degginger / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: asteriidae, asteroidea, echinodermata, feet, forcipulatida, helianthoides, invertebrate, legs, marine, ocean, pacific, predatory, puget, pycnopodia, sea, sound, star, starfish, stomach, sunflower, underside, washington
