#5044 · 🪼 jellyfish, starfish, worms & co

Six-rayed Star

🇳🇱 Zesarmige zeester ·Leptasterias hexactis

🪼 Jellyfish, starfish, worms & co 📍 outside Europe

7 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

Leptasterias hexactis is a species of starfish in the family Asteriidae, commonly known as the six-rayed star . It is found in the intertidal zone of the western seaboard of the United States. It is a predator and is unusual among starfish in that it broods its eggs and young.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 4,849iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
4,849 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by William Stimpson in 1862 (164 years ago).