Emory Meyer
English / Science
November 4, 2015
Common Starfish (Sea Star)
Asteria rubens
Asteria rubens more commonly know as the Common starfish (Sea star) is found in a variety of coarse, shelly gravel, and sand in the ocean. They have 5 arms and are usually orange or brick red. They can grow up to 52 inches in diameter. They prey upon bivalves, gastropods, and small crabs. Their predators are Sharks. manta rays, and Alaskan king crabs. They are heterotrophic, meaning they get energy from other organisms by eating autotrophs or other heterotrophs, they have radial symmetry, and they are ectothermic, meaning they are cold-blooded. Three of their structural adaptations include: they have many tube feet to help them move around, If they get flipped over, it turns one of its arms over, allowing its tube feet to grip on something. Then it turns even more allowing the other feet to grip the structure, and finally when it loses one of its arms, over time a new one grows in its place.
Domain: Eucaryotes
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Asteroidea
Order: Forcipulata
Family: Asteriidae
Genus: Asteria
Species: rubens
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