Name: Bat star, sea bat
Scientific Name: Asterina miniata
Family: Asterinidae
Group: Sea-stars, sea-urchins and sea-cucumbers
Class: Invertebrates
Size: 11-25 cm.
This starfish is very variable in terms of colour. It has no thorns or pedicellaria and its arms may vary in number from 4 to 9, being 5 the normal quantity. Its habitat runs from the intertidal zone to 300 metres deep, on rock or sand substrata, and it is very common in the kelp community. It feeds on a great variety of animals and plants. In order to do so, it extends its stomach over the food and segregates digestive enzymes on it, a process that can take up to 3 days and is called stomach eversion. Due to its abundance during the fertile period and the easy way it releases its gametes, it is frequently used in embryological studies.
Photo by:
J. P. M. McKenna (www.flickr.com)
Giant Pacific Octopus
