Purple sun star

Language English

Onglets

Description

Distinguishing features

This large sun star has 7 to 14 arms. It varies in colour from orangish-yellow to purple.

Reproduction

The females lay their eggs in the water, where they are then fertilized by the males. The young resemble tiny adults as soon as they are born. Purple sun stars are able to reproduce asexually, by regeneration or division.

Diet

They eat invertebrates, primarily sea stars, sea cucumbers and nudibranchs.

Predators

Their enemies are fish and invertebrates.

Habitat

Purple sun stars live in salt water, over rocky or gravel bottoms, at depths of about 30 metres.

Ecology, behaviour

An individual of this species is able to reproduce by regeneration after dividing in half. A sun star can also fully regenerate from a piece of its body, provided that it contains a sufficiently large portion of the central disk, located in the centre of the star. It can also regenerate a part of its body that has been broken off or eaten by a predator.

French name

Soleil de mer pourpre

Scientific name

Solaster endeca

Phylum

Echinodermata

Class

Asteroidea

Order

Spinulosida

Family

Solasteridae

Size

Maximum diameter: 20 cm

Status

Common species

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