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Underside of a sunflower sea star. Sunflower sea stars can reach an arm span of 1 m (3.3 ft). They are the heaviest known sea star, weighing about 5 kg. [4] They are the second-biggest sea star in the world, second only to the little known deep water Midgardia xandaros, whose arm span is 134 cm (53 in) and whose body is 2.6 cm (roughly 1 inch) wide. [7]
Starfish are in some cases taken from their habitat and sold to tourists as souvenirs, ornaments, curios or for display in aquariums. In particular, Oreaster reticulatus , with its easily accessed habitat and conspicuous coloration, is widely collected in the Caribbean.
Labidiaster annulatus is found around the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.The depth range is from the intertidal zone down to 554 metres (1,818 ft) but this starfish most commonly occurs between 30 and 400 metres (98 and 1,312 ft).
The genus Linckia, as is true of other species of starfish, is recognized by scientists as being possessed of remarkable regenerative capabilities, and endowed with powers of defensive autotomy against predators: [citation needed] Although not yet documented, L. laevigata may be able to reproduce asexually, as does the related species Linckia ...
Animals that feed on the spiny scallop include starfish, particularly the ochre star (Pisaster ochraceus) and the sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides), octopuses and sea otters. [9] The scallop can swim and does so to escape from predators , repeatedly opening and shutting its valves in a clapping action.
Location and habitat [ edit ] They occur predominantly on deep-water continental shelf habitats (but a part of them inhabit shallow waters) [ 3 ] in all the world's oceans, being the most diverse in the Indo-Pacific region.
Solaster dawsoni attacking a spiny red sea star, Hippasteria spinosa An adult specimen of Solaster dawsoni afflicted by the Sea star wasting disease off Vancouver.. The morning sun star is a predator, feeding mostly on other starfish.
The Asterozoa are a subphylum in the phylum Echinodermata, within the Eleutherozoa.Characteristics include a star-shaped body and radially divergent axes of symmetry. The subphylum includes the classes Asteroidea (the starfish or sea stars), Ophiuroidea (the brittle stars and basket stars), Somasteroidea (early asterozoans from which the other classes most likely evolved), and Stenuroidea ...