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Pisaster giganteus, the giant sea star, giant spined star, or knobby sea star is a species of sea star that lives along the western coast of North America from Southern California to British Columbia. It makes its home on rocky shores near the low tide mark. It preys on mollusks. It can grow as large as 24 in (61 cm) in diameter.
Ochre sea star at low tide, Saltspring Island, British Columbia. Pisaster (from Greek πίσος, "pea", and ἀστήρ, "star" [1]) is a genus of Pacific sea stars that includes three species, P. brevispinus, P. giganteus, and P. ochraceus. Their range extends along the Pacific coast from Alaska to southern California in the intertidal zone.
Pisaster brevispinus, commonly called the pink sea star, giant pink sea star, or short-spined sea star, is a species of sea star in the northeast Pacific Ocean. It was first described to science by William Stimson in 1857. [1] The type specimen was collected on a sandy bottom, 10 fathoms (18 m) deep, near the mouth of San Francisco Bay.
The red cushion star is the largest sea star found within its range, sometimes growing to about 50 centimetres (20 in) in diameter. It usually has five thick, broad arms projecting from a broad cushioned disc but some specimens have four, six or seven. The upper surface is hard and is covered with blunt spines.
Marthasterias glacialis is a fairly large starfish with a small central disc and five slender, tapering arms. Each arm has three longitudinal rows of conical, whitish spines, usually with purple tips, each surrounded by a wreath of pedicellariae.
Echinaster spinulosus is a medium sized sea star with five long tapering arms, round in cross section, attached to a central disc. Near one edge of this is the madreporite, a structure used for drawing in water to replenishing the water vascular system.
The nine-armed sea star is a scavenger and a predator and examination of the stomach contents show that the diet consists primarily of molluscs, small crustaceans and polychaete worms. Many of the food items were swallowed whole and had been ingested by the starfish everting its stomach and engulfing its prey. [ 4 ]
They commonly have 5 rays (occasionally 4–6). The rays are smooth and appear smooth due to the lack of pedicellariae and spines. The species is relatively small; the diameter is usually over 8 cm and rarely gets larger than 12 cm. [2] As with all seastars the blood star has a madreporite which can be seen in the image below. madreporite