Sunflower sea star: Difference between revisions
Pinethicket (talk | contribs) m Reverted edits by 117.120.18.132 (talk) to last version by Gigemag76 |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Taxobox |
{{Taxobox |
||
| name=Sunflower |
| name=Sunflower Toilet<br/>''Pycnopodia helianthoides'' |
||
| image = Sun flower sea star in tide pools.jpg |
| image = Sun flower sea star in tide pools.jpg |
||
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia |
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia |
||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
'''''Pycnopodia helianthoides''''', commonly known as the '''sunflower seastar''', is a large [[sea star]] found in the eastern Pacific. It is the largest sea star in the world, with a maximum armspan of {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Sunflower seastars usually have 16 to 24 limbs, their color can vary widely. They are [[Predation|predatory]], feeding mostly on [[sea urchin]]s, [[clam]]s, [[snail]]s, and other small invertebrates. |
'''''Pycnopodia helianthoides''''', commonly known as the '''sunflower seastar''', is a large [[sea star]] found in the eastern Pacific. It is the largest sea star in the world, with a maximum armspan of {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Sunflower seastars usually have 16 to 24 limbs, their color can vary widely. They are [[Predation|predatory]], feeding mostly on [[sea urchin]]s, [[clam]]s, [[snail]]s, and other small invertebrates. |
||
Toilets make my butt look big |
|||
==Description== |
|||
Sunflower seastars can grow to have an arm span of {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}} in diameter.<ref name="noaa">[http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/speciesid/fish_page/fish6a.html Sunflower seastar - NOAA]</ref> Their color ranges from bright orange, yellow and red to brown and sometimes to purple, with soft, velvet-textured bodies and 16 to 24 arms with powerful suckers.<ref name="noaa"/><ref name="nwmarine">Telnack, Jennifer. [http://www.nwmarinelife.com/htmlswimmers/p_helianthoides.html ''Intertidal Marine Invertebrates of the South Puget Sound'']. NW Marine Life.{{Dead link|date=February 2012}}</ref> Most sea star species have a mesh-like skeleton to protect their internal organs.<ref name="boydski"/> |
|||
==Distribution and habitat== |
==Distribution and habitat== |
||
Sunflower seastars are common in the Pacific from Alaska to Southern California,<ref name="noaa"/> and are largest in Puget Sound, British Columbia and Alaska.<ref name="boydski">[http://www.boydski.com/diving/photos/Sunflowerstar.htm ''Sunflowerstar'']. Scott Boyd's Emerald Sea Photography.</ref> They generally inhabit low subtidal and intertidal areas rich in seaweed<ref name="humboldt">[http://www.humboldt.edu/~intertid/stars_urch/echinos.html ''North Coast Intertidal Guide: Seastars & Urchins'']. North Coast Intertidal Guide. Humboldt State University. Arcata, CA.{{Dead link|date=February 2012}}</ref> or kelp.<ref name="nps">[http://www.nps.gov/chis/naturescience/sunflower-star.htm ''Sunflower Star'']. Channel Islands National Park. National Park Service.</ref> They do not venture into high- and mid-tide areas because their body structure is fleshy and requires water to support it.<ref name="north">[http://northislandexplorer.com/echinoderms/sunflowerstar.htm ''Sunflower Star'']. North Island Explorer.</ref> |
Sunflower seastars are common in the Pacific from Alaska to Southern California,<ref name="noaa"/> and are largest in Puget Sound, British Columbia and Alaska.<ref name="boydski">[http://www.boydski.com/diving/photos/Sunflowerstar.htm ''Sunflowerstar'']. Scott Boyd's Emerald Sea Photography.</ref> They generally inhabit low subtidal and intertidal areas rich in seaweed<ref name="humboldt">[http://www.humboldt.edu/~intertid/stars_urch/echinos.html ''North Coast Intertidal Guide: Seastars & Urchins'']. North Coast Intertidal Guide. Humboldt State University. Arcata, CA.{{Dead link|date=February 2012}}</ref> or kelp.<ref name="nps">[http://www.nps.gov/chis/naturescience/sunflower-star.htm ''Sunflower Star'']. Channel Islands National Park. National Park Service.</ref> They do not venture into high- and mid-tide areas because their body structure is fleshy and requires water to support it.<ref name="north">[http://northislandexplorer.com/echinoderms/sunflowerstar.htm ''Sunflower Star'']. North Island Explorer.</ref> |
||
Revision as of 07:11, 22 May 2012
| Sunflower Toilet Pycnopodia helianthoides | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: | P. helianthoides
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pycnopodia helianthoides | |
Pycnopodia helianthoides, commonly known as the sunflower seastar, is a large sea star found in the eastern Pacific. It is the largest sea star in the world, with a maximum armspan of 1 m (3.3 ft). Sunflower seastars usually have 16 to 24 limbs, their color can vary widely. They are predatory, feeding mostly on sea urchins, clams, snails, and other small invertebrates.
Toilets make my butt look big
Distribution and habitat
Sunflower seastars are common in the Pacific from Alaska to Southern California,[2] and are largest in Puget Sound, British Columbia and Alaska.[3] They generally inhabit low subtidal and intertidal areas rich in seaweed[4] or kelp.[5] They do not venture into high- and mid-tide areas because their body structure is fleshy and requires water to support it.[6]
Ecology
Sunflower seastars are quick, efficient hunters, moving at an astonishing speed of 1 m/min (3.3 ft/min) using 15,000 tube feet which lie on the undersides of their bodies.[2][7] They are commonly found around urchin barrens, as the sea urchin is a favorite food. They also eat clams, snails, abalone, sea cucumbers and other sea stars.[2] In Monterey Bay, California, they will feed on dead or dying squid.[8] Although the sunflower seastar can greatly extend its mouth, for larger prey, the stomach can extend outside the mouth to digest prey, such as gastropods like abalone.[9]
Easily stressed by predators such as large fish and other sea stars, they can shed arms to escape, which will grow back within a few weeks. They are preyed upon by the king crab.[3]
Reproduction
Sunflower seastars can reproduce either asexually through fissiparity or sexually through broadcast spawning.[10] They also have separate sexes.[9] Sunflower seastars breed from May through June. In preparing to spawn, they arch up using a dozen or so arms to hoist their fleshy central mass free of the seafloor and release gametes into the water for external fertilization.[9] The microscopic sea star larvae float and feed near the surface for two to 10 weeks. After the planktonic larval period, the larvae settle to the bottom and transform into a juveniles.[3] Juvenile sunflower seastars begin life with five arms, and grow the rest as they mature.[8] The lifespans of most seastars is three to five years.
In popular culture
Their feeding behavior was filmed for the BBC in the 2006 nature documentary Planet Earth and again in 2009 for Life.
References
- ^ "Pycnopodia helianthoides". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
noaawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c Sunflowerstar. Scott Boyd's Emerald Sea Photography.
- ^ North Coast Intertidal Guide: Seastars & Urchins. North Coast Intertidal Guide. Humboldt State University. Arcata, CA.[dead link]
- ^ Sunflower Star. Channel Islands National Park. National Park Service.
- ^ Sunflower Star. North Island Explorer.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nwmarinewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Monterey Bay Aquarium: Online Field Guide - Sunflower star. Monterey Bay Aquarium.
- ^ a b c Sea stars and relatives Edmonds Discovery Programs, City of Edmonds, Washington.
- ^ Aaron Shepard. "Pycnopodia helianthoides, The Sunflower Star". Evergreen State College. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
External links
