Class Asteroidea
Order Valvatida
Family Goniasteridae
VERMILION STAR
Mediaster aequalis Stimpson, 1857
Identification:
5 well-defined arms (rarely, 4 or 6 armed specimens) with a flat disc. Aboral side vermilion red and covered with tightly packed flat-topped plates bearing tiny granules. To 20 cm (8 in) across.
Range:
Northern Alaska to southern California; intertidal to 500 m (1,650 ft).
A typical VERMILION STAR.
An unusual 6-armed specimen.
Close-up view of the aboral surface. Note the numerous oval to round plates that bear up to 24 central granules and up to 25 slightly longer peripheral granules.
These VERMILION STARS were found on a small rocky reef in Sechelt Inlet, BC and assembled together to show the rather limited range of colour.
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Notes:
Common. Eats a wide variety of living prey such as sponges, brachiopods, worms, bryozoans, tunicates and orange sea pens. It also scavenges dead animals and consumes detritus.
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