#5041 · 🪼 jellyfish, starfish, worms & co

Sunflower Sea Star

🇳🇱 Zonnebloemster ·Pycnopodia helianthoides

CRcritically endangered 🪼 Jellyfish, starfish, worms & co 📍 outside Europe

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

what is it?

Pycnopodia helianthoides , commonly known as the sunflower sea star , is a large sea star found in the northeast Pacific. 3 ft). Sunflower sea stars 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.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 5,075iNaturalist observations
threat CRcritically endangered

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.
5,075 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Johann Friedrich von Brandt in 1835 (191 years ago).
Listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.