Coastal BC Animals: Sunflower Seastar
Sunflower Seastar
The cold, clear waters of Desolation Sound are home to many types of starfish. On a recent trip to Lund I found this Sunflower Seastar right in the harbour.
Sunflower Seastars have from 15-26 arms (rays) and can grow up to 1 metre (3 feet) in diameter. They are predators of the ocean floor of the intertidal and subtidal zones and eat sea urchins, clams, snails, abalone, sea cucumbers and other sea stars. With over 15,000 tube feet they can "scoot" along at about one metre per minute. If attacked, they can shed arms to get away. Regeneration takes just a few weeks. Now that's a neat trick! - Margy
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Fascinating! I've never seen anything like it, not even on TV. =)
ReplyDeleteWonderful to see fauna from afar! Our big deal are the bug, raccoons and blooms in My Muskoka!
ReplyDeleteVery cool. Have you ever watched "Blue Planet"? It's an excellent series.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great starfish I have seen them before they are fasanating. I really enjoyed our Fairhaven visit yesterday.
ReplyDeletePretty
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful - love its glowing color!
ReplyDeleteLast year fishing just outside of Deep Bay we had one in our prawn trap...they are huge...
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