Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Sunflower Sea star, Pycnopodia helianthoides

Business end of the Beast!  Sunflower Sea star, Pycnopodia helianthoides.  I remember seeing these on the sea floor in shallow bays in the Prince William Sound in Alaska.  However,they range as far South as Southern California.  It's really cool to see the hundreds or thousands (care to count?) of tiny feet!  They get up to 3 feet in width and have up to 24 arms.  As with most starfish, these are carnivores, feeding on crustaceans and invertebrates.

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